Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up

Officially, this week, spring is over. And, with it, comes the end of the 2012 Spring Reading Thing challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days.

How did I do on the challenge? Well, I read all but one of the books on my list. I plowed through Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnley
by Alison Weir -- in which those who had motivation for the murder could be summarized as "everyone in Scotland" -- and, after reading a book about British history with the constant references to "Lord So-and-So," which was, of course, not his name but merely his title, so that he (and there were many, many such "he's") would be referred to a couple of pages later by his name, or later, by a new title he might have acquired ... my brain just was not up for more mind-taxing references to titled nobility. So, "The King's Mistress," despite its being a fiction title and likely a lighter read, was postponed.

I did, however, read: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand, Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, Book 2)
by Suzanne Collins (plus Mockinjay), State of Wonder: A Novel (P.S.)
by Ann Patchett, Food in History
by Reay Tannahill, North With the Spring: A Naturalist's Record of a 17,000-Mile Journey With the North American Spring (American Seasons, 1st Season)
by Edwin Way Teale, Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation
by Andrea Wulf -- and a few more that were not originally on my list. I'm still working my way through my chronological read-through of the Bible this year (currently in Kings and Chronicles), and my read-alouds to the (now) six-year-old have continued, even though we haven't managed to get in there all of the classics that I'd like to implant in her brain. (It's hard to balance this out, with also having enough time to do read-alouds of the books she picks -- like the entire unicorn oeuvre of our library.) Probably our biggest read-aloud success this spring was Uncle Wiggily's Story Book. I was even willing to incur a two-day overdue fine (we couldn't renew it because it was on someone else's request list) so we could finish the book.

All of the books I read this spring were good; I loved Founding Gardeners. (I also felt very patriotic for reading it over Memorial Day weekend.) It focused on four (and a half, sort of --- Benjamin Franklin was referenced quite a bit, but he didn't get his own section) of the Founding Fathers -- George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison -- and their involvement with plants, plantings and gardenings. (I can't remember what order they were addressed in the book, but it amuses me to list them in the order they held the U.S. Presidency; the first four people to do so.) I feel like I have not read as much about Madison before as I have the others, and was particularly intrigued by his section of the book. Also, now I want to go back to Monticello some day and focus more attention on the gardens during the visit.

I liked North with the Spring, but I think I liked Wandering Through Winter, with its daily diary approach, better. This one did make me wonder, though, what some of those natural areas Teale traveled in the 1950s look like today. Can you still camp on the island he references, etc.? 

Probably my favorite discovery during this challenge -- partly related to the challenge, partly to the need to read it for a book group -- was my use of my library's "Bestseller Express" program for Unbroken. I had never used it before and, while I still have some resentment about paying to use the library service, the 10-day rental fee of $4 for a book whose free circulation copies had 400-plus requests ahead of mine on them was pretty easy to use. I might use it again if there's something I really, really want to read right now (although usually, I can wait).

Thanks, Katrina, for hosting the Spring Reading Thing; I always find it encouraging to have some external motivation for accomplishing something (in this case, reading certain books) that I've been wanting and meaning to do anyway.

Spring Reading Thing 2012

So, I have been in a bit of a bloggy slump for -- checking post dates -- about the past month. It could be attributed to busy life, end-of-winter dreariness, etc. But: now spring has sprung, and it's time for the 2012 Spring Reading Thing (hosted by Katrina at CallapidderDays). That means it's time to post my personal list -- a challenge to myself, as it were -- of books to read during spring 2012.

1. Another of my goals for the year is to do a chronological read-through of the Bible, using this Bible reading plan. I'm using a study Bible for this read-through, and reading the footnotes and such as well.


2.  I'm supposed to be reading Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand for a book group, but considering the huge number on the library wait list -- and some of my other reading goals -- it kind of seems unlikely, especially in time for the early April meeting date. Luckily, this particular book group is mostly a gals' get-together with the book as an excuse. :)




3. On the other hand: Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins is the second in The Hunger Games trilogy. We read the first volume for my church book group, and now I want to find out how the story ends. (I'm borrowing these from a friend, avoiding the library issue.)



4. Another friend from the church book group gave me her copy of State of Wonder
by Ann Patchett. I've got about two and a half chapters left. I've also read Bel Canto (P.S.) and Run, and am really impressed with this author's writing. Reading this is also part of my personal "off-the-shelves" goal: reading some volumes that have been on my bookshelves for a while, and likely determining that some of them are not keepers which can therefore move on to their next home (and declutter mine).


5. Another "off-the-shelves" book given to me by a friend (and yes, there's a subtheme here of "books I feel guilty for not having read yet" and/or "books from friends") is Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Murder of Lord Darnleyby Alison Weir. Nonfiction history.



6. Still another "off-the-shelves" book from a friend is Food in History by Reay Tannahill. I had never heard of this book before and have no idea what it's about -- other, than you know, exactly what the title suggests. Since I generally like books that deal with the subject of food in history -- with, you know, less "in-your-face" titles about it -- both she and I are guessing and hoping that I'll like this one.


7. I also need to get "off-the-shelves" this historical fiction book that I received via the Crown Publishing Read It Forward program. I enjoy expanding my world history education -- which was quite wanting -- via historical fiction; this particular novel,  The King's Mistress: A Novel by Emma Campion, is about the mistress of England's King Edward III.


8. Next up are a couple of seasonal books (from the library). I stumbled across mid-20th century naturalist Edwin Way Teale's  Wandering Through Winter
at a used bookstore a couple of years ago, and greatly enjoyed the journal entries for his travels across the country on each day of the season. I would eventually like to read all of his seasonal books. North With the Spring somehow seems a logical choice for the Spring Reading Thing.


9. Also spring-y -- and historical; see, I've combined the two! -- Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf is sort of like The Federalist Papers of gardening. Kind of. Well, anyway, they both relate to historical figures of the Revolutionary War era like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, and others. Nonfiction. With plants.

10.? I feel like I should have a number 10 to round this out; however, at the moment, I have no number 10. (Not that I won't read 10 books this spring; I just don't have anything specifically planned out.) I will just have to feel incomplete. Or else, I could count some reading goals with the five-year-old as number 10: I would like to incorporate into our read-alouds some additional classic works that I feel are basics she needs to have under her belt -- things like (more) Beatrix Potter stories,  Dr. Seuss stories (in addition to those we've already read), Winnie-the-Pooh books, the Blue and/or Red Fairy books, Betsy-Tacy, Milly-Molly-Mandy...and the list goes on. This is part of the problem: it's a challenge to fit so many good books into a family schedule, while simultaneously letting her pick out some of her own reading material.

Are you going to read this spring? You can find Katrina's Spring Reading Thing guidelines here and the post with everyone's link-up here. Happy reading!

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Spring Reading Thing 2011

The calendar has officially ushered in spring this week, and with the vernal equinox has sprung up the annual Spring Reading Thing hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. During the months of spring (official dates: March 20 -- yes, I'm behind on getting this post up -- to June 20), you come up with a list of reading material you want to get read, post it, link to Katrina's post here with all the details, and get reading. (Family-friendly titles and pictures in the post, as kid participants are not unusual.)

So, without (much) further ado, here are my reading goals for the 2011 Spring Reading Thing

1) During this period of time, I want to catch up on my periodicals. For me, this means

a) going through the several weeks' worth of back issues of the local newspaper, reading and clipping what's relevant, and then recycling. (It's a very good local newspaper; it just gets delivered on a day that I rarely have time to read it, and then the "getting behind-ness" snowballs.) I generally start with the latest edition and work backwards, since the coverage of some stories -- such as the brouhaha about our local school district's redrawing of the neighborhood schools' boundaries -- is ongoing.)
b) by June, have read up to -- and hopefully including - the June issues of the magazines I receive (I'm a sucker for a free magazine subscription.) I may be forgetting some, but among these titles are Woman's Day, All You, More, Scholastic Parent and Child (yay for their summer break ;)), Family Fun, Parenting, Minnesota Parent, Minnesota Women's Press, my alumni magazine, The Lutheran and Lutheran Woman Today.

2) Finish my 2008 library list!

My library allows patrons to keep several "lists" in your electronic account -- of, says books you want to read. I started separating "my list" out by years when it got too long and unwieldy -- BUT I now have ONE title left in my 2008 list. I think I can achieve this goal -- especially since it's an audiobook download!

50 Success Classics: Winning Wisdom for Work and Life from 50 Landmark Books by Tom Butler-Bowdon

3) In the spirit of easily achievable goals, I'll put the April and May selections for my book group on here, too (since I know I'll read those)

The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff


3) And in the spirit of moving forward with goals and continually challenging oneself, let's start on the 2009 library list. :) (There are only 28 titles on here to start with -- I think the 2008 list began with a count somewhere in the 50s or 60s. I either got choosier, or smarter.) Hmm...I think four might be a good number to shoot for?

The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd by Mary Rose O'Reilly

Do-Over: In Which a Forty-eight-year-old Father of Three Returns to Kindergarten, Summer Camp, The Prom and Other Embarrassments by Robin Hemley

Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert by Terry Tempest Williams

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Like Mother, Like Daughter compiled by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

It would also be nice if I got some of the books around my house read (these are all library titles listed here), but that may be a goal for a later date.