Book a Week in 2014 - BW 52 Wrap it up with a bow

[-M-]

For all of those who mentioned that they plan to add more poetry to their reading mix in 2015, a comment on M-mv reminded me about / recommended Poetry 180. The Misses and I used it throughout academic year 2012/13. Just a wonderful, wonderful resource and a terrific way to infuse your year with verse. The same commenter also recommended The Writer's Almanac.

 

EDITED TO ADD A REMARK: Apologies in advance if someone else has already suggested these resources. It will take me a bit to catch up on all of the posts.

 

Also, I do not usually have an opportunity to "like" posts, yet I am always so heartened to see the "likes" by my own. I hope you will believe me when I say that in a perfect world I'd "like" all of your posts -- twice! -- if I were logged in regularly. This is such a happy and informative place to spend time. I think "Happy Birthday!" or "So sorry to hear that you're ill" or, sadly, "I am sorry to learn that you're hurting" in all of the appropriate places -- but usually well after the conversation has concluded. Please know, though, that I regularly think of this pleasant corner of the WTM virtual living room with warm regards and great appreciation.

 

Happy, healthy new year to all of you!

[Violet Crown]

Before I forget.....

 

 

Happy Hogmanay!!! http://www.rampantscotland.com/know/blknow12.htm

 

 

 

VC -- I thought Wee Girl might enjoy learning about the Scottish New Year. Actually if you have Scottish neighbors a dark haired visitor after midnight might happen anywhere in the UK.

 

 

I will definitely tell her about Hogmanay. We do often have a dark-haired visitor after midnight; but it's always Wee Girl herself.

[JennW in SoCal]

For all of those who mentioned that they plan to add more poetry to their reading mix in 2015, a comment on M-mv reminded me about / recommended Poetry 180. The Misses and I used it throughout academic year 2012/13. Just a wonderful, wonderful resource and a terrific way to infuse your year with verse. The same commenter also recommended The Writer's Almanac.

 

EDITED TO ADD A REMARK: Apologies in advance if someone else has already suggested these resources. It will take me a bit to catch up on all of the posts.

 

Also, I do not usually have an opportunity to "like" posts, yet I am always so heartened to see the "likes" by my own. I hope you will believe me when I say that in a perfect world I'd "like" all of your posts -- twice! -- if I were logged in regularly. This is such a happy and informative place to spend time. I think "Happy Birthday!" or "So sorry to hear that you're ill" or, sadly, "I am sorry to learn that you're hurting" in all of the appropriate places -- but usually well after the conversation has concluded. Please know, though, that I regularly think of this pleasant corner of the WTM virtual living room with warm regards and great appreciation.

 

Happy, healthy new year to all of you!

 

A happy and healthy new year to you too, Ms. M-mv!  It is delightful to see you here. Back in the old days of the forum, in its original format when my lads were still young, yours was a voice that greatly influenced me. I was mostly a lurker way back when, so not many remember me from those days.  Because of you I assigned Catcher in the Rye to my recalcitrant, reluctant-to-read oldest as you shared your experience that everybody has something to say about that book.  And you were right! I was inspired to hang up bird feeders and join Project Feeder Watch after your enthusiastic posts about the birds in your yard. My heart still aches for your loss, too.

 

Now, don't spoil it and tell me I'm associating the wrong poster with these memories!  Just smile and nod and take the credit!!

[-M-]

A happy and healthy new year to you too, Ms. M-mv!  It is delightful to see you here. Back in the old days of the forum, in its original format when my lads were still young, yours was a voice that greatly influenced me. I was mostly a lurker way back when, so not many remember me from those days.  Because of you I assigned Catcher in the Rye to my recalcitrant, reluctant-to-read oldest as you shared your experience that everybody has something to say about that book.  And you were right! I was inspired to hang up bird feeders and join Project Feeder Watch after your enthusiastic posts about the birds in your yard. My heart still aches for your loss, too.

 

Now, don't spoil it and tell me I'm associating the wrong poster with these memories!  Just smile and nod and take the credit!!

 

You've got the right poster (*wry, sad smile*) and I thank you for remembering. Do you realize how long ago that was? I began posting here (there) in 2002.

[Jane in NC]

Two more books to add to the 2014 list. 

 

I finished Greenberg's excellent book American Catch.  And I too realized that something was missing from my list.  While walking with The Lad this afternoon, we discussed books and films, touching at one point on my Cold War fetish.  The Manchurian Candidate!  Obviously I had been brainwashed to leave this one off the list!  ;)

 

My total now stands at 88.

[Melinda in VT]

I finished the year with two good books.

 

The Ghost Map is a nonfiction book about a big cholera epidemic in London in 1853. I really enjoyed most of it, but the last two chapters seemed to just be filler to make the book long enough to sell. This is NOT a book to read while eating.

 

The Killing Moon is a fantasy novel that addresses religious issues. I read it because the author is the guest author at Arisia this year, and the conventions are more enjoyable if I've read some of the guest author's works. I give this one 4 out of 5 stars, and I only give 5 stars to books that change me.

[Stacia]

I finished the decluttering book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. I think I read decluttering books like others read recipe books. Lol. (Probably because my extended family has pack-rats bordering on hoarders & I'm constantly trying to understand & also make sure any genetic predisposition does not take effect in my case.)

 

As Americans, it's probably a misleading title to use 'tidying' because I think most Americans will think of it as a cleaning how-to book. It's not. She's like the Japanese super-nanny (nice but really, really firm in her convictions [or orders  ;) ] about how you need to deal with your stuff) come to call, promoting a radical change in the amount of your stuff. Her book differs from the traditional ones I've read in a couple of different ways...

• Most decluttering books focus on removing items you don't want, sometimes working quickly, other times working at a slow & steady pace. Kondo's method is to keep what you love (what "sparks joy") & then get rid of anything that remains. And, she says to do it thoroughly, all at one time (about 6 months total for a whole house) & then never need to do it again.
• There is a strong animist outlook in here with much said about appreciating & thanking your possessions (even those that will be leaving your home). I personally like this idea, but I can see that some Westerners may dismiss some of her advice because of a strong animism component.
• Rather than sorting by room or area, she demands that you sort by type of article -- so, basically, gather all your clothes in one place first, then pick up each one separately, see how it feels/speaks to you; if it sparks joy, you keep it; if not, you thank it for the work or lesson it gave you & release it to go somewhere else. She has a specific order for going through the belongings in your home ranging from those that will be less emotional (clothing) until you get to the hard stuff/more emotional (personal mementos such as letters & photos).
• Her advice seems to stem from a single-person POV or perhaps a couple, but not really addressing families. So, there are holes about dealing with things like toys, necessary garage/yard items, etc... if you're looking for very specific things for every single area of your house. That said, if you truly tackled the areas she listed & were ruthless per her standards, you could make a big difference in those areas, which might spur you to continue on those other areas, imo.
• Her take on papers/paperwork in general is that papers pretty much never "spark joy", so get rid of them (unless absolutely essential). :lol:  Personally, I agree & that's an area where I need to improve. I have tons of papers I could dump.

So, for me, it was a fun & somewhat inspiring read. Not sure that most who read it are to the point of radical decluttering/simplifying that she promotes, but perhaps it is enough to spur you into action? If you google her name &/or articles about her, you will be able to read some overviews of her style & outlook.

[-M-]

I finished the decluttering book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. I think I read decluttering books like others read recipe books. Lol. (Probably because my extended family has pack-rats bordering on hoarders & I'm constantly trying to understand & also make sure any genetic predisposition does not take effect in my case.)

 

Stacia, a virtual friend recently recommended this to me as a sort of singing-to-the-choir read. (She knows I am a ruthless declutterer and tidier. *wry grin*) Your post is making my "add to cart" finger itch. Heh, heh, heh.

[Robin M]

I finished the decluttering book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. I think I read decluttering books like others read recipe books. Lol. (Probably because my extended family has pack-rats bordering on hoarders & I'm constantly trying to understand & also make sure any genetic predisposition does not take effect in my case.)

 

As Americans, it's probably a misleading title to use 'tidying' because I think most Americans will think of it as a cleaning how-to book. It's not. She's like the Japanese super-nanny (nice but really, really firm in her convictions [or orders  ;) ] about how you need to deal with your stuff) come to call, promoting a radical change in the amount of your stuff. Her book differs from the traditional ones I've read in a couple of different ways...

• Most decluttering books focus on removing items you don't want, sometimes working quickly, other times working at a slow & steady pace. Kondo's method is to keep what you love (what "sparks joy") & then get rid of anything that remains. And, she says to do it thoroughly, all at one time (about 6 months total for a whole house) & then never need to do it again.
• There is a strong animist outlook in here with much said about appreciating & thanking your possessions (even those that will be leaving your home). I personally like this idea, but I can see that some Westerners may dismiss some of her advice because of a strong animism component.
• Rather than sorting by room or area, she demands that you sort by type of article -- so, basically, gather all your clothes in one place first, then pick up each one separately, see how it feels/speaks to you; if it sparks joy, you keep it; if not, you thank it for the work or lesson it gave you & release it to go somewhere else. She has a specific order for going through the belongings in your home ranging from those that will be less emotional (clothing) until you get to the hard stuff/more emotional (personal mementos such as letters & photos).
• Her advice seems to stem from a single-person POV or perhaps a couple, but not really addressing families. So, there are holes about dealing with things like toys, necessary garage/yard items, etc... if you're looking for very specific things for every single area of your house. That said, if you truly tackled the areas she listed & were ruthless per her standards, you could make a big difference in those areas, which might spur you to continue on those other areas, imo.
• Her take on papers/paperwork in general is that papers pretty much never "spark joy", so get rid of them (unless absolutely essential). :lol:  Personally, I agree & that's an area where I need to improve. I have tons of papers I could dump.

So, for me, it was a fun & somewhat inspiring read. Not sure that most who read it are to the point of radical decluttering/simplifying that she promotes, but perhaps it is enough to spur you into action? If you google her name &/or articles about her, you will be able to read some overviews of her style & outlook.

 

My hubby is so hard to do decluttering with because he goes down memory lane with every single thing.  Me, I'm tossing as fast as I can which is why most of the time I do that stuff without him.  :leaving:  

 

 

Can't multipost for some reason so Hat's off to Shawne for a job well done.  Melissa, knew you could do it.  Thanks for the poetry link - already signed up.   Hugs!

 

Shelfies would be fun.  I've been cleaning up my shelves, organizing books for 2015 so probably could do a shelfie of what's waiting to be read. 

 

 

[Jane in NC]

I finished the year with two good books.

 

The Ghost Map is a nonfiction book about a big cholera epidemic in London in 1853. I really enjoyed most of it, but the last two chapters seemed to just be filler to make the book long enough to sell. This is NOT a book to read while eating.

 

The Killing Moon is a fantasy novel that addresses religious issues. I read it because the author is the guest author at Arisia this year, and the conventions are more enjoyable if I've read some of the guest author's works. I give this one 4 out of 5 stars, and I only give 5 stars to books that change me.

 

I had to Google Arisia, the fantasy/sci fi convention in Boston, since I did not know what it was.  Just adding this bit for others who might be similarly curious.

 

Let us know about your convention experience!

[-M-]

Shelfies would be fun.  I've been cleaning up my shelves, organizing books for 2015 so probably could do a shelfie of what's waiting to be read. 

 

Shall we do "bookshelfies" with us in them...

 

 

Or without?

 

 

If with, the above is from earlier this year. If without, then I need to go take some new pics, as the one I included is from shortly after we moved into the "forever home"... four years ago this coming month.

[Stacia]

My hubby is so hard to do decluttering with because he goes down memory lane with every single thing.  Me, I'm tossing as fast as I can which is why most of the time I do that stuff without him.  :leaving:  

 

Yeah, I know people like that. I'm not sure how well the "spark joy" criteria would work for someone who travels down memory lane constantly. My guess is memory lane folks will feel like everything sparks joy &, therefore, not let go of anything. (Just my guess based on my own relatives who love traveling down memory lane with every possession.)

 

Kondo does also note that you don't need to let your family see what you're disposing of. ;)  Just fyi.

 

If you're looking for a kinder/gentler approach to decluttering (maybe one that might work more w/ the 'memory lane' folks), you may want to see if your library carries Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back by Brooks Palmer. He goes much more into addressing why/how people collect clutter & how to gently change the mindset. Imo, his outlook would be more likely to work for the memory lane types, while Marie Kondo's book is going to appeal more to those who want to embrace radical change or already appreciate minimalism to a certain extent.

 

[Melinda in VT]

I had to Google Arisia, the fantasy/sci fi convention in Boston, since I did not know what it was. Just adding this bit for others who might be similarly curious.

 

Let us know about your convention experience!

Thanks, Jane.

 

I meant to include that info, but I got distracted and obviously didn't. :-)

[Robin M]

You're adorable Melissa.  However, I'd have to go get make up on and do my hair which I'm too lazy to do so here you all go.  Books and angels instead:

 

 

 

[Ali in OR]

 

 

 

 

This looks like the right books:television ratio. Awesome space!

[Ali in OR]

I posted my year-end summary, but not the book list. Here it is:

 

Books Read in 2014

1. The Nine Tailors-Dorothy Sayers

2. The Monuments Men-Robert Edsel

3. Bad Monkeys-Matt Ruff

4. All Quiet on the Western Front-Erich Maria Remarque

5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

6. Paper Towns-John Green

7. After the Quake-Haruki Murakami

8. Rabbit-Proof Fence-Doris Pilkington

9. The Dead in their Vaulted Arches-Alad Bradley

10. Too Much Happiness-Alice Munro

11. Murder on the Orient Express-Agatha Christie

12. Lost Lake-Sarah Addison Allen

13. Dear Life-Alice Munro

14. The Chaperone-Laura Moriarty

15. The Grand Sophy-Georgette Heyer

16. Winter Garden-Kristin Hannah

17. Hollow City-Ransom Riggs

18. The Fault in our Stars-John Green

19. The Reluctant Widow-Georgette Heyer

20. The Rosie Project-Graeme Simsion

21. The Golem and the Jinni-Helene Wecker

22. Orphan Train-Christina Baker

23. Philomena-Martin Sixsmith

24. The Autoimmune Epidemic-Donna Jackson Nakazama

25. The Goldfinch-Donna Tartt

26. The Invention of Wings-Sue Monk Kidd

27. All the Light We Cannot See-Anthony Doerr

28. To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee

29. Becoming Jane Eyre-Sheila Kohler

30. Cotillion-Georgette Heyer

31. Stardust-Neil Gaiman

32. Farthing-Jo Walton

33. Mom & Me & Mom-Maya Angelou

34. The Martian-Andy Weir

35. Ha’Penny-Jo Walton

36. Jane Eyre-Charlotte Bronte

37. Half a Crown-Jo Walton

38. Gilgamesh-Stephen Mitchell

39. Code Talkers-Chester Nez

40. The Hanover Square Affair-Ashley Gardner

41. The Wee Free Men-Terry Pratchett

42. Sodium Girl’s Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook-Jessica Goldman Foung

43. A Hatful of Sky-Terry Pratchett

44. Wintersmith-Terry Pratchett

45. Mary Poppins-P.L. Travers

46. Generosity-Richard Powers

47. Excellent Sheep-William Deresciewicz

48. I Shall Wear Midnight-Terry Pratchett

49. The Shoemaker’s Wife-Adriana Trigiani

50. The House on Mango Stree-Sandra Cisneros

51. Lord of the Flies-William Golding

52. Good Omens-Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

53. The Perks of Being a Wallflower-Stephen Chobsky

54. The Historian-Elizabeth Kostova

55. The Gatekeepers-Jacque Steinberg

56. Black Sheep-Georgette Heyer

57. I am Malala-Malala Yousefzai

58. Dear Committee Members-Julie Schumacher

59. Possession-A.S. Byatt

60. Angela’s Ashes-Frank McCourt

61. Stray-Andrea Höst

62. Lab Rat One-Andrea Höst

63. Caszandra-Andrea Höst

64. Gratuitous Epilogue-Andrea Höst 

[Angel]

:lol: I think for me it may be more of a case of not reading the controversies over on the main board. I really normally do not need to know!

 

I stopped doing that a year ago!  The best thing ever!  I'm happy in my bubble and happy that Robin keeps all that away from this thread!!!  I don't want to know that people actually think different than I do  :001_tt2:  :lol:

[Ali in OR]

Let's see if I can remember how to attach a photo...

 

This is not the only bookcase in the house, but it's the biggest...10' wide by 8' hall in a small, bedroom-sized study...kind of hard to get a picture! The left quarter is dh's--mostly business and photography books. When it's time to donate books to the library book sale, this is the section that I look at while he wants to clean out my home school section! The right quarter has a lot of history and non-fiction, some of which I hope to get to in my informal dusty book challenge. Of the middle, the bottom two thirds are kid books--mostly home school stuff. Kid lit is elsewhere in a little bookcase my dd dubbed "paradise" when we moved her books there!

 

Note the double-stacking beginning to happen on a few shelves. And I'll mention that the dolls on the top shelf are Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy from Little Women. My mom made them probably when she was a young teen. Her favorite book.

 

(WTM is not liking my attempts at attaching photos. I'll keep working on it)

 

[Mnemosyne]

http://www.evernote.com/l/AAcMT_6f4yFMEpJ8tote4rugjq7Whx-Z3yM/

 

That's my full book list for the year, including repeats. My Goodreads list doesn't show books I've read in the past.

 

166 books all the way through, lots started but not finished.

 

Books that changed my life:

• The Miracle Morning
• The Slight Edge
• The Compound Effect
• The ONE Thing
• The Obstacle is the Way
• The 12 Week Year

As I like to joke, the "The" books.

 

Thing to improve on for next year: read a lot of easy fiction when the kids were busy and I just needed to have my mind off in space. My goal for next year is to read more difficult fiction and focus more on non-fiction as well.

 

I'm looking at:

• 20 more difficult fiction books.
• 30 new non-fiction books.
• 12 non-fiction re-reads.

And whatever else I feel like at the time.

 

One more goal - write in this thread more regularly. ;)

[JennW in SoCal]

I had to share this with y'all.  We obviously aren't used to real winters here in San Diego, so last night's snow was quite the event.  The local paper is collecting photos and sharing them... 

 

San Diego snow

[Stacia]

I had to share this with y'all.  We obviously aren't used to real winters here in San Diego, so last night's snow was quite the event.  The local paper is collecting photos and sharing them... 

 

San Diego snow

 

:lol:

 

Yeah, but did you guys turn into Snowmageddon like we did? :laugh:

 

ETA: Love the flip flops & palm trees in the snow in your link, Jenn! My sis has some photos of the beach in Charleston when there was snow quite a few years ago. Such a strange sight to see snow on the beach & the houses around there.

[Shawneinfl]

You're adorable Melissa.  However, I'd have to go get make up on and do my hair which I'm too lazy to do so here you all go.  Books and angels instead:

 

 

 

 

Haha - I'd have to do hair & make-up, figure out how to post pics, AND buy book angels.

[mumto2]

Haha - I'd have to do hair & make-up, figure out how to post pics, AND buy book angels.

Me too! :lol:

[LostSurprise]

I wish multiquote was working for me. I can feel my memory of all the posts I want to reply to eroding. 

 

 

Dark books: VioletCrown and Prairiegirl had responses that echoed the most with me. I'm not a dark person. I don't watch horror. I can't even really watch violence on television. I close my eyes for things most people would probably watch. However, I need fiction (and non-fiction) which is complex and real. Because the world is a complex place there is evil and darkness...even in good people. There is chaos in having free will. It's both a beautiful thing and a terrible thing. I read to experience the world, for my mind to reach out and touch other minds, and to do that I have to accept that some of the world is hard, and dark, and full of sadness. 

 

I don't seek it out, but I find that I can't truly live and experience if my heart doesn't think the human actions and reactions are real (obviously, the other things...the magic, the speculation, the imagination can be as unreal as necessary ;) ). There are probably things I won't read, because I'm sensitive to them, and that's okay, but mostly I need humanity in all it's dark complexity. 

 

 

The Ghost Map: that epilogue is a corker. Almost completely different subject. 

 

 

Can't remember the other half a dozen posts I wanted to reply to...loved the photos and the book lists! I remember your library photo last year MentalMultivitamin. It inspired me when we put ours together this year. I'll try to post something of that later. 

[tammyw]

Although I wasn't part of this group this year, I am so thankful you are all posting your favorites, as it is giving me a list of great books to try this year, as I hope to read a lot more "for me" this year. Great reviews and recommendations!

[Pam in CT]

Still working on the ribbon, but...

 

 

Total read: 164, more or less, though it's a journey, not a race...

 

Most under my skin (my take on "most difficult to put down"): The Wandering Falcon, by Jamil Ahmad, recommended by Stacia

Top 5 Stories:

• A Lady Cyclists' Guide to the Kashgar, by Suzanne Joinson
• Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
• A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki
• Saffron Kitchen, by Yasmin Crowther
• Divining Women, by Kaye Gibbons

Least Favorite: The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 by David McCullough (astonishingly dull given its quite interesting subtsance...)

 

 

And a few other categories that came to mind as I went over the year's haul...

 

Most innovative in structure:

• Falling Out of Time, by David Grossman
• Thaliad, by Marly Youmans
• Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein
• Persepholis, by Marjane Satrapi
• Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant, by Roz Chast

Best Young Adult (excluding Thaliad, Persepholis and Code Name Verity, since in my world a book can only win one category):

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon
• When the Emperor was Divine, by Julie Otsuka
• A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle
• When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead  (riffs off Wrinkle; should be read together)
• The Fault in our Stars, by John Greene

Best Recommendations from my new BAW Friends:  :001_smile: 

• Master and Margarita, by Mikahil Bulgakov (Jane)
• To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Eliana)
• The Conference of the Birds, by Farid al-Din Attar (shukriyya)
• The Golden Ass, by Apuleius (Violet Crown)
• City of Thieves, by David Benioff (Jane)

Best Poetry: Eyes, Stones by Elana Bell (Eliana)

Most Surprising: The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman

Countries visited via frigate like a book: Nigeria, Pakistan, Israel, Spain, Cambodia, Greece, Malaysia, Iran, France, Japan, Australia, UK (Scotland, England, Ireland), Poland, Italy, Russia, India, Kashgar/China, British Columbia/Canada, Egypt, France, Portugal, Vietnam, Hungary, Russia, Rwanda, Germany, Panama, Nepal = 28 (ish)

Author discoveries of the year: Terry Pratchard, Neil Gaiman (thanks to many BAW-ers!)

 

Happy New Year, ladies!  May 2015 be filled with reading, laughter, and adventures, vicarious and IRL!

 

[Pam in CT]

Although I wasn't part of this group this year, I am so thankful you are all posting your favorites, as it is giving me a list of great books to try this year, as I hope to read a lot more "for me" this year. Great reviews and recommendations!

 

Welcome, tammyw!  Come on in!  We look forward to your recommendations in 2015!

[shukriyya]

Some of you are so creative with the way you've categorized your reading experience. It gives such a different lens to view the books through and has shaped my experience of what you all are reading in a way that has texture and...color. Because it's your unique grouping. Love it!

[Just Robyn]

I really enjoyed it and felt quite ambivalent about buying it up to that point. I had, in fact, recently thought of working through it again and if I hadn't just bought the Zentangles book might suggest a joint venture with you. The Zentangles book is a 6 week course so it's not that long. If you're willing to wait perhaps after that? Otherwise I say go for it! :driving:

 

 

I'd say a possible drawing partner is worth a six week wait. I'll do some Zentangles and preview the DotRSotB book while I wait. 

[Rosie_0801]

I'd like to do a course of study in drawing too, but the books would take weeks to arrive. I might order them, then lag behind like a wannabe. :D

[Stacia]

Most under my skin (my take on "most difficult to put down"): The Wandering Falcon, by Jamil Ahmad

 

I have to agree. It didn't make my favorites list, but it still haunts & disturbs me & continues to churn in the recesses of my mind. Harsh and beauty are such polar opposites as words, yet they describe this book for me. Remote yet timely too.

[Stacia]

Happy New Year, my BaW friends! Hoping 2015 is wonderful to each & every one of you. :grouphug:

[Stacia]

Haha - I'd have to do hair & make-up, figure out how to post pics, AND buy book angels.

 

:lol:

 

I need to clean off my shelves & then color-code them first (because Jenn *loves* them that way). ;) :001_tt2:

 

[Rosie_0801]

I've begun my first book for the year. I don't actually believe my year is going to be affected by the way I spent my New Year's Eve and the first book I read for the year, but I can't help acting as though I do.

 

So my first book for this year is "Such is Life" by Tom Collins, which is the dustiest book I own. Mum bought it for me when I was in grade 6 :lol:

 

I'd like nothing better to get the old out of my life. Probably not possible, but Jan 1st is a good time to pretend all things are possible.

[shukriyya]

I'd say a possible drawing partner is worth a six week wait. I'll do some Zentangles and preview the DotRSotB book while I wait. 

 

Oh, fun! Waiting on my zentangles pens and tiles which are apparently in the mail and then off I go. When I'm done I'll let you know and then away we go..............................into the forgiving spaciousness of the blank page............

[shukriyya]

I'd like to do a course of study in drawing too, but the books would take weeks to arrive. I might order them, then lag behind like a wannabe. :D

 

Come on, Rosie, it's a drawing course, nothing linear about that ;) so there'd be no such thing as lagging, really :D

 

[Just Robyn]

crstarlette - Where do you find the Buddha books?  My brother-in-law gave my children the first three awhile back and they were too expensive for me to buy them the rest of the series.  I should check the library again.  Maybe they are more popular now and have appeared there.  Did you like the series?

 

I am so enjoying reading everyones lists!

 

Nan

 

I got all the books from the library. I had never even heard of Tezuka until I saw this series in the graphic novel section. I did really enjoy the series. It was both entertaining and informative. I got a review of things I had already learned elsewhere and learned new things along with art and some silliness.

 

Plus I just think it's super cool that someone would make a manga series of the life of Buddha. When I think of manga, I think of fight scenes and pretty girls. And this was like - just because it's manga doesn't mean it has to suck. And I was like - oh, cool. 

 

My only complaint was that since it was a mix of fact and fiction, there were times when I wished for a footnote/endnote or something to tell me if a particular detail was fact, fiction, or based on fact. I still think it's a great series and I'll definitely try to get my kids to read it.

[Stacia]

I'd like nothing better to get the old out of my life. Probably not possible, but Jan 1st is a good time to pretend all things are possible.

 

:grouphug: :grouphug:

[Just Robyn]

http://www.evernote.com/l/AAcMT_6f4yFMEpJ8tote4rugjq7Whx-Z3yM/

 

That's my full book list for the year, including repeats. My Goodreads list doesn't show books I've read in the past.

 

166 books all the way through, lots started but not finished.

 

Books that changed my life:

• The Miracle Morning
• The Slight Edge
• The Compound Effect
• The ONE Thing
• The Obstacle is the Way
• The 12 Week Year

As I like to joke, the "The" books.

 

Thing to improve on for next year: read a lot of easy fiction when the kids were busy and I just needed to have my mind off in space. My goal for next year is to read more difficult fiction and focus more on non-fiction as well.

 

I'm looking at:

• 20 more difficult fiction books.
• 30 new non-fiction books.
• 12 non-fiction re-reads.

And whatever else I feel like at the time.

 

One more goal - write in this thread more regularly. ;)

 

Ooh! You read the Ranger's Apprentice books! I read books 1 - 10 with my oldest ds, and it's nice to see another adult who read these.

[Just Robyn]

I've begun my first book for the year. I don't actually believe my year is going to be affected by the way I spent my New Year's Eve and the first book I read for the year, but I can't help acting as though I do.

 

So my first book for this year is "Such is Life" by Tom Collins, which is the dustiest book I own. Mum bought it for me when I was in grade 6 :lol:

 

I'd like nothing better to get the old out of my life. Probably not possible, but Jan 1st is a good time to pretend all things are possible.

 

:001_wub:  *love! The like button just wasn't good enough for how much I like your comment, Rosie.

 

ETA: Oh, it looks like Stacia beat me to it with *hugs*.

[Robin M]

@shukriyya, Robyn and Rosie:  The drawing thing is totally tempting as I tried Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain years back, but gave it up because was doing with James and he just couldn't wrap his head around Upside Drawing and a few of the other things. Me, no problem.  I was looking at it again while also adding several more drawing books to my repertoire but getting nowhere.  The Zentangles totally looks like all the drawings my mom did over the years and filled notebooks fulled of diagonals and circles and other designs.   Working on my writing goals now and will see if and how it could possibly be worked in.   Trying not to get the "eyes are too big for my stomach syndrome."    Happy to share with you guys I was asked to be volunteer intern for the next session of the online creative writing course F2K through Writers Village University. So stoked.

[Rosie_0801]

I ordered the drawing on the right side of the brain book and workbook, and this zentangle thing everyone keeps talking about. I've been wanting to learn to draw for a while. Dd and I might do it together. :)

[Just Robyn]

@shukriyya, Robyn and Rosie:  The drawing thing is totally tempting as I tried Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain years back, but gave it up because was doing with James and he just couldn't wrap his head around Upside Drawing and a few of the other things. Me, no problem.  I was looking at it again while also adding several more drawing books to my repertoire but getting nowhere.  The Zentangles totally looks like all the drawings my mom did over the years and filled notebooks fulled of diagonals and circles and other designs.   Working on my writing goals now and will see if and how it could possibly be worked in.   Trying not to get the "eyes are too big for my stomach syndrome."    Happy to share with you guys I was asked to be volunteer intern for the next session of the online creative writing course F2K through Writers Village University. So stoked.

 

Right - I too am afraid I'll find that by adding drawing I'm trying to do more things than I can really do without Hermione's time-turner. But, I've read/heard more than once the advice that writers should do some creative activity other than writing. Then I read Matthea Harvey's book of art and poetry and read her interview where she said:

 

With “In the Glass Factory,†the acts of writing the poem, listening to Philip Glass’s Quartet No. 5, and taking the photographs were all intertwined. I had five inch-tall glass bottles on my window and when I got stuck on a part of the poem, I’d photograph them. I have thousands of pictures of those bottles. When the wind blew the light blue bottle onto the floor and it broke, I realized that the corresponding glass girl in the poem had to disappear.

 

And that's what made me want to really, really try to fit drawing into my life somewhere. I think one of my reading goals for 2015 will have to be Read Fewer Books. Of course, if I give up on drawing, I will regret the spent money.

[Stacia]

A couple of photos to close out 2014...

 

My (quickly) color-coded bookcase (for Jenn):

 

 

All the cool cards & notes I have received from my BaW friends!

 

[Jane in NC]

Pam,

 

I am happy to see Kaye Gibbons on your "best of 2014" list.  One of my prized possessions is an autographed first edition of Ellen Foster acquired when she was starting her writing career. Gibbons has had some challenges though and has not published in a while. 

 

Pretending with you, Rosie my dear.

 

Lots of love,

Jane

[Robin M]

Right - I too am afraid I'll find that by adding drawing I'm trying to do more things than I can really do without Hermione's time-turner. But, I've read/heard more than once the advice that writers should do some creative activity other than writing. Then I read Matthea Harvey's book of art and poetry and read her interview where she said:

 

With “In the Glass Factory,†the acts of writing the poem, listening to Philip Glass’s Quartet No. 5, and taking the photographs were all intertwined. I had five inch-tall glass bottles on my window and when I got stuck on a part of the poem, I’d photograph them. I have thousands of pictures of those bottles. When the wind blew the light blue bottle onto the floor and it broke, I realized that the corresponding glass girl in the poem had to disappear.

 

And that's what made me want to really, really try to fit drawing into my life somewhere. I think one of my reading goals for 2015 will have to be Read Fewer Books. Of course, if I give up on drawing, I will regret the spent money.

 

Oh, I love that quote!   Have you ever read Julia Cameron's The Artist Way?  It's what lead me to attempting to learn how to draw in the first place.  This morning I started reading her Vein of Gold contemplating the how and where and when.  Hubby's been doing the 10k step thing everyday very faithfully (so proud of him) and this morning I remembered how when I was younger, living at home with my parents, we would go on walks every night after dinner.  So, decided that's something we all need to do starting this new year. So many ideas crop up while walking and well as drawing.  The only way I can sit and listen to an audiobook is if my hands are busy so there is always the audiobook route.  We've pretty much given up on tv except for a few dvred shows.  I've discovered the time suck for me is the internet.  As long as I stay off during the week days until the evening, then I get a lot accomplished.  To be honest, I got addicted to the stupid celebrity websites this past year, so giving them up for the new year in favor of more intellectual pursuits.  :lol:

[JennW in SoCal]

A couple of photos to close out 2014...

 

My (quickly) color-coded bookcase (for Jenn):

 

 

All the cool cards & notes I have received from my BaW friends!

 

 

You're cracking me up!!  But lovely, beautiful arrangements of both books and postcards.  

 

Now about that Moby Dick in Pictures.  Is it photographs?  The text with illustrations?  I never posted a quick snapshot I took of the interior of a Moby Dick graphic novel I saw at Comic Con last summer.

 

Cheers to all who are ready to draw.  I keep thinking I'll start sketching but being married to a professional artist sort of shuts me down before I even start.  I'll just stick with my crafty impulses.

[Jane in NC]

Oh, I love that quote!   Have you ever read Julia Cameron's The Artist Way?  It's what lead me to attempting to learn how to draw in the first place.  This morning I started reading her Vein of Gold contemplating the how and where and when.  Hubby's been doing the 10k step thing everyday very faithfully (so proud of him) and this morning I remembered how when I was younger, living at home with my parents, we would go on walks every night after dinner.  So, decided that's something we all need to do starting this new year. So many ideas crop up while walking and well as drawing.  The only way I can sit and listen to an audiobook is if my hands are busy so there is always the audiobook route.  We've pretty much given up on tv except for a few dvred shows.  I've discovered the time suck for me is the internet.  As long as I stay off during the week days until the evening, then I get a lot accomplished.  To be honest, I got addicted to the stupid celebrity websites this past year, so giving them up for the new year in favor of more intellectual pursuits.  :lol:

 

I will be watching with interest those of you who attempt the drawing journey in '15.  Fiber arts form my creative outlet so I'll continue that focus although I would eventually like to return to clay. Obviously I am a three dimensional gal.

 

Now off to bed with a book for me. Someone else will have to see in the new year!

 

 

[Stacia]

Jenn, Moby Dick in Pictures has a drawing for every page of the book, centered on one particular sentence or part of a sentence. Many/most/all (?) of them are drawn on top of scrap paper to begin with, so you get an interesting juxtaposition.

 

More details & photos of some pages here:

http://www.brainpickings.org/2011/10/11/matt-kish-moby-dick-illustrated/

 

(I figure having a picture to resort to for every page is what will manage to keep me sane through trying Moby Dick. Lol!)

[Robin M]

Now off to bed with a book for me. Someone else will have to see in the new year!

Night, Doll!  Happy New Year!