2017 in Books

My goal of 40 books this year fell 10 short. Hey, I moved and started a new job and I also spent an embarrassing amount of time watching Peaky Blinders, Big Little Lies, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. You should watch ALL of those but only after you do some reading. Here were my favorites this year:

Fiction 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Drew and I each bought a copy and read this together. It was the longest book I've ever read and we both LOVED it. I will likely not read any more of them because I liked the way this one ended and I didn't like what I read about the next few. Perhaps we will watch the show instead. You'll love Jamie, he's pretty much the perfect man.


The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Oh yeah, I watched this show too but first I read the book. You know all about this already but you should still read it. This was my first Margaret Atwood read and it did not disappoint. Last night I started Alias Grace so that I can watch that soon.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

An amazing young adult story about a young woman who witnesses her friend be shot by the police and the aftermath that ensues. Again, heartbreaking but raw and real for young adults.

Non-Fiction 

Why I left Why I Stayed by Tony Campolo & Bart Campolo

Tony Campolo has been one of my favorite Christians for years, the work he does and his heart for justice are what I admire about him. This book is a dialogue between he who is still a minister today and his son Bart who left the ministry and Christianity. It is heartbreaking and honest and desperate but so relatable for those of us who find ourselves somewhere in between.


Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond 

The author lives in rentals throughout the city of Milwaukee to research this book and as sensitive as I have always been to the issues of poverty I had never put much thought into the urban poverty issue of lack of housing. I learned so much and it read like fiction-which is terrifying because it is real.


Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming 

My only point of reference for Alan Cumming was as Floop in Spy Kids but we bought his audiobook and with his Scottish accent I'd listen to him read the phone book (do they still make phone books?) His complicated relationship with his father was both humorous and horrifying. Drew and I both cried and laughed out loud multiple times as we listened to this on a road trip.

One Day We'll All be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul 

A mostly light and funny read, it didn't get great reviews but I love books of comedic essays and this didn't disappoint.


The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer 

Yes, the title is misleading but I tend to think of all librarians as bad asses. People whose job it is to save rare pieces of culture and knowledge in one of the most notorious centers of knowledge in the Islamic world from a fundamentalist terrorist group? Yes please.


What books did you enjoy this year? I'm setting my sights on 50 books for 2018. Check out the Modern Mrs. Darcy's Reading Challenge for inspiration-that's where I'll be starting.

2016 in books

If you haven't yet started using Goodreads, then do yourself a favor before the new year and set yourself a reading goal for 2017. Goodreads helps you track books you've read, keep a list of books you want to read and suggests books for you in genres you enjoy.

Last year I set my reading goal at 30 books. I had never read that many books in a year and I thought it would be a nice challenge. It proved easier than I imagined and I had completed 30 books by summer so my new goal became 50. And if I finish The Trespasser today, I will have met it.

I have NEVER read that many books, nearly over the course of my life much less in a single trip around the sun. I read poetry, short stories, memoirs, non-fiction, historical fiction, young adult, 1 series, and even a graphic novel.

It also may have helped that I joined my first book club this year so that forced me to read books I, otherwise, may never have picked up.

I spent most of my life thinking that what I read had to be historical and useful to me in my craft but that simply isn't true. I burnt through the first 3 books of The Selection series in less than 48 hours. There isn't much use for a princess competition in my line of work but man oh man did I fall hard into that world.

Here are some that I believe are worth your while. Also, take note, I don't often read books from the current year, some are but most are not.Also for some of them I've treated you to a few nonsensical words to encourage your readership of said book.

Fiction

Euphoria by Lily King

I mean the cover alone is enough reason to read it but it was my favorite book of the year.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Sisters, Africa. Missionaries, Crazy devout father. Enough said.

Historical Fiction

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

I recommend this to my students and always have to give the disclaimer that it is not what they think. Stalin's Soviet Union labor camps. One girls story. So good.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Slow to get started but probably my second favorite book of the year. A few years following the Bolshevik revolution, a former nobleman is confined to a hotel in Moscow.

Non-Fiction

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Just like The Daily Show: witty, honest, and important.

Between the World & Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The most important book of the year, in my mind. Made Drew read it too.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Want to be inspired to do that thing you've always wanted? This book'll do it.

Poetry

milk and honey by Rupi Kaur

oh so good.

Young Adult

The Selection series (books 1-3) by Keira Cass

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Making of Mollie by Anna Carey



Already on my list for 2017:

When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams

Truevine by Beth Macy

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon


What did you read this year that you LOVED? Or what's on your list for next year? Happy reading in 2017! I will likely be trying to figure out if Antoinette is going to find the trespasser as the ball drops tonight.

2015 Recap

2015 is coming to a close and I find it easier to think back on my year if I write it down. We've had a fun-filled year with it's fair share of ups and downs but here are some of the highlights of our year.


Books
My reading challenge for this year was to read 25 books. So far I've made it to 23. I'd like to think I could knock out a book a day these next couple of days and I'm sure as heck gonna try but it may not happen. I'm usually late to the game with books so it's not as if any of them are new this year but here's my list of books that are worthy of your time. They are quite varied: political, fiction, religious, Appalachian, cooking, you name it....it's on the list.


1. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
3. On Writing by Stephen King
4. Gray Mountain by John Grisham
5. Deer Hunting with Jesus by Joe Bageant
6. Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans
7. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
8. Heritage by Sean Brock


Movies


I went to the movies exactly twice this year. Both times with my sister to see rated R female comedies which were funny but I'm not qualified to give you advice on movies considering I don't watch them.


Podcasts
I discovered podcasts this year and my life was changed forever. These are worth your time (as if you didn't already know).


1. Radiolab (the very best)
2. StoryCorps (duh)
3. Gilmore Guys (they break down every episode of Gilmore Girls, it's my guilty pleasure)
4. Serial (which I haven't actually listened to yet but I've heard only wonderful things about it)


Music


This year we bought a record player and started our collection of albums. We saw Old Crow in concert 3 times (Blacksburg, Denver, Roanoke).

TV
I may not know movies but I am an expert TV watcher. Aside from watching countless football games these are the shows I wasted precious hours binge-watching:


1. Drunk History
2. The Mindy Project
3. Sherlock
4. Parks and Rec
5. Orange is the New Black
6. Gilmore Girls for the 47th time


Animals
In 2015 a small fortune in vet bills (2 hip replacements, lots of pain meds, physical therapy, Lyme's disease test) and added some new outside family members to the farm. First 2 hens and a rooster, then 4 hens and minus one rooster. Do the math and we have 6 wonderful hens and said good riddance to a hateful old rooster who attacked all of us.

Food
We grew our largest garden to date and had the widest variety we've ever had. We ended the season with 10 cans of strawberry rhubarb jam, 15 cans of kraut, 16 cans of pickles, 4 cans of pickled peppers, 14 cans of salsa, 6 cans of tomatoes, and 40 cans of spaghetti sauce. We also put a good bit of asparagus, broccoli, rhubarb, corn, and zucchini in the freezer.

Travel
Our big summer trip was when I got on an airplane for the first time and we travelled to Colorado for a week where we hiked, camped, relaxed and decided we didn't want to move there.


We attended our first pro football game in Charlotte and watched Green Bay lose. Drew went to Italy for 2 weeks. We camped with family on Memorial Day. We spent a week on the New River with my parents. We had two weddings in Tennessee and my siblings and I spent a week in Williamsburg.

Here's a little video recap of the year

I hope you all have a wonderful New Years and a joyful 2016 filled with sweet friends, books to lose yourself in, travel to beautiful places, and animals to love on. What were some of your 2015 highlights? Books? Places to travel? Podcasts? Chicken names?

Long Weekends

 

 We left for our anniversary trip last Thursday and stopped over in Williamsburg for delicious sandwiches at The Cheese Shop. We, of course, had Ike with us so we required outdoor seating. But it was a nice day and the little historical square had doggy bowls all around filled with water.

 

We had time to kill so we wandered over to "colonial" Williamsburg. We passed a sign that said "thank you for paying for your ticket" which we did not do. It was very sunny and seeing as we are both pasty white and did not want to get burnt before we ever got to the beach, we didn't spend much time there. Although their flowers were lovely. 

 

 

We left Williamsburg and drove straight to the beach. Ike was pretty comical. He, like me, is not a big fan of water so he did not quite know what to think of it so he took to eating all of the crap that had washed up on the beach.

 

 

Thursday night we ordered pizza and rented Monument's Men. Then watched Blackfish and went to sleep depressed. 

 

 

The next morning we were on the beach before 9:00 and it was quite chilly. So I looked like this for the first 3 hours.... We ate lunch at a little place on the beach where Ike could be tied right next to us which was a good thing because I proceeded to feed him every bite of my fish tacos which were shit.

The crab dip was on point though. 

That night we found some perfect crab leg grub at this little million year old hole in the wall. Drew ended up with sun burnt feet despite my warnings that feet are the worst thing that can be sun burnt.

We listened to The Fault In Our Stars on audiobook in the way there and home. I had heard mixed reviews. One of my friends loathed it. But we found it rather enjoyable. I mean it's very sad but I loved the dialogue and Augustus Waters charmed me. I thought John Greene did a great job writing for teenagers (although they had a very advanced vocabulary). 

 

Sunday we had a cookout on our roof with some friends. I love summer foods, they're so colorful. We grilled pork chops and corn and enjoyed cilantro dip and spinach salad. Our friends, Sarah & Ben (and little one on the way) are moving to Pittsburgh next month so we are trying to get in all of the Taylor time we can. They are the friends who make us want to have kids. They are so thoughtful about each detail of little one to come and we love listening to their thoughts on the whole affair. Also we relate well on familial matters. :) 

Monday we enjoyed a baseball game with our North Carolinian friends but it was rather warm. I disappointed everyone by not eating as much as normal but I did probably get the award for drinking the most water and requiring the most sunscreen.

Yesterday we ended our amazingly long weekend by heading over to water the garden. I can't wait to have more colorful foods fresh from our own garden. Hope your weekend was relaxing but full of friends and food.

On another note, I'm halfway through The Book Thief right now. What are you all reading?

Magic

I finished the Harry Potter series.  And as cliche as it sounds the only word I can think of to describe it is magical. 

Don't ask me how I made to 25 years old without knowing how it ended. It must have been magic but I was hanging on every word in the last book. Harry, admittedly, was not a character that I loved but like anyone you spend 7 books and 5 months of your life with, you get attached. He was certainly brave beyond belief and the fact that he could love so deeply having never known love was inspiring.

I don't want to go into too many details because 1. Most of you read these books eons ago & 2. Those of you who have magically made it to your age without knowing need to start reading them now. 

I will read these books with my children one day, should I ever have any. As much as they swept me away at my age I can only imagine the magic a child would feel as they read them. 

The thing I've been most impressed with is how these books bring people together. Both of my Mary friends, my cooperating teacher, and my husband have cheered me on and shared in every memory of the books. They have all been so excited for me to read them and that's how you know they are special. Not only do they mean so much to people but they are excited for other people to experience the joy that comes from the characters and the story. 

These books were certainly far outside of my usual realm (I've since begun Hillary Clinton's autobiography) but I already know which ones I will read again (4 & 7). However, I've hated the movies. They're just blah. I get that there is no way to get every detail of the books but  I just haven't been impressed with them. 

I know I'm late to the party on the whole HP business but I'm totally a believer now. Color me impressed. 

Dirty Dancing and other random thoughts

I'm watching Dirty Dancing as I type this, for the second time this week. Drew and I sat in my parents living room last Sunday morning (when we were supposed to be on the road back home) and watched it like we'd never seen it before. And just to tie it all together Drew and I did a little dirty dancing of our own on New Years. The Taylors drove to Roanoke and spent the evening/night/following day with us. I can never get enough of them. They're so much fun.

• I think I mentioned a few posts back that Drew and I joined the Y. I actually surprise myself at how much I enjoy going, and we even get a workout running walking there. However, after being all of like 8 times I don't know why I'm not seeing results. I mean in reality I know how crazy that is but it'd be nice if I did. Granted the Y has to compete with the 30 some sausage balls I consumed over Christmas and the fact that I've had Domino's four times in as many days.

• I always struggle to determine when I should take down Christmas. What is your usual routine? I mean, I have lots of free time right now so it would make sense but it still feels too early. It makes our house so homey. But if I'm being honest the real reason is that my Christmas tree would likely still have to sit in our living room because I have nowhere to store it. So....maybe I'll keep it up a while longer.

• Do I talk about New Girl too much on here?? Well at least I don't speak only in New Girl quotes like I do to my sister.

 

 

• And to finish out this random post I started reading A Little History of the World which is written for children but it is so lovely. I just smile every time I pick it up. Also, I started A Year of Biblical Womanhood on my Kindle. It has certainly inspired me to start studying women of the Bible more. Trying to get all of my reading in before I go back to school in a week and a half.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year complete with dirty dancing (if that's your style). Here's to 2014!

7

"At some point, the church stopped living the Bible and decided just to study it, culling the feast parts and whitewashing the fast parts. We are addicted to the buffet, skillfully discarding the costly discipleship required after consuming. The feast is supposed to sustain the fast, but we go back for seconds and thirds and fourths, stuffed to the brim with fat and inactivity. All this for me. My goodness, my blessings, my privileges, my happiness, my success. Just one more plate."

 

So I just finished this book. And I'm not going to give away any spoilers because I fully expect ALL of my readers to read it. It will change the way you approach your lifestyle if you let it.

I've had this nagging feeling for a while that this lifestyle I've created for myself is not how Jesus called us to live. And when it feels like I'm surrounded by "consumers" it's nice to know I'm not alone in wanting less to make more room/time for Jesus and what he has called us to do.

Brief overview:

For 7 months Jen Hatmaker chooses 7 different areas to reduce excess in her/her family's life. Clothes. Shopping. Waste. Food. Possessions. Media. Stress. If you're looking to feel inspired by that nagging feeling I suspect many of you have that the church has this whole "life on earth" thing all wrong please pour yourself into this book. Let it change you because it certainly has changed me.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"May we embrace unity over infighting, bravery over comfort, us over me, people over principles, and God's glory over our own."

"This nagging tension that things aren't right, that life is more than blessing extremely blessed people...that's all true."

"I'm done separating ecology form theology, pretending they don't originate from the same source."

"I marvel at how out of place simple, humble Jesus would be in today's American churches."

"Jesus gets a fresh platform in the empty space where indulgence resided."

Oh and P.S. she's also hilarious.

On the Go

Most of June was low-key for us. No big plans or trips but now it's July and things are shaking up. We spent this past weekend in Luray, Virginia camping with Drew's family. It is such a beautiful part of Virginia and we had a great visit.

We have company staying with us this week including sweet baby Kinsley who you can read about over on her mama's blog: A Well Rounded Intern.

Soon we'll be traveling to Tennessee for vacation with my family. Followed by some time back home to catch up with everyone. I'm glad we had such a relaxing June and I'm hyped about more family time and catching up with old friends soon.

We listened to Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom on our way there and back. I love Mr. Albom although I still haven't gotten up the nerve to read Tuesday's With Morrie yet. But I did love hearing him talk about the Fab 5 on ESPN and very much enjoyed The Five People You Meet in Heaven (though I'm due for a re-read). We still have to finish the ending of faith but so far it is sooo good. If you've read anything of his before this one will not disappoint.

Also, my new addiction is Sons of Anarchy on Netflix...so much for those documentaries you all suggested. They are on hold until I finish season 4.

And if you're looking for a place to print your instagram pics, Prinstagram is the place to do it. They aren't too expensive and they came quick. And they're cute little squares.

What was the point of this post again?.... Sorry for the lack of any linear thinking today. Clearly my brain is on the go as well.