A Month of Faves - Fave "New To Me" Authors

When I started thinking about this prompt, I wondered exactly how many books I'd read by new-to-me authors this year that I'd enjoyed. I knew I had read a lot of second books by authors that I enjoyed and a fair amount of new-to-me authors that underwhelmed me. As it turns out, though, there were quite a few that did impress. Let's just say that you'll likely be seeing some of these on another list later this month. In no particular order, here are seven authors that impressed me enough to make other books they write automatic reads.


1. Rebecca Rotert - Last Night At The Blue Angel

2. Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened 

3. Marlon James - The Book of Night Women

4. Homer Hickam - Carrying Albert Home 

5. Anthony Doerr - All The Light We Cannot See

6. Jennifer Egan - A Visit From The Goon Squad

7. Emma Donoghue - Room

What new-to-you authors impressed you this year?

Love and Freindship and Other Youthful Writings by Jane Austen

Love and Friendship and Other Youthful Writings by Jane Austen
Published January 2015 by Penguin Publishing Group
Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:
Jane Austen’s earliest writing dates from when she was just eleven-years-old, and already shows the hallmarks of her mature work. But it is also a product of the times in which she grew up—dark, grotesque, often surprisingly bawdy, and a far cry from the polished, sparkling novels of manners for which she became famous. Drunken heroines, babies who bite off their mothers’ fingers, and a letter-writer who has murdered her whole family all feature in these highly spirited pieces. This edition includes all of Austen’s juvenilia, including her “History of England” and the novella Lady Susan, in which the anti-heroine schemes and cheats her way through high society.

My Thoughts:
When I finished Northanger Abbey, the last of Jane Austen's novels for me to read, it was hard to imagine that I would never be able to read another novel written with her particular flair and sass. What's a girl to do when her favorite writer has been dead for hundreds of years? The answer is: wait for someone to collect all of her early writings so you can enjoy watching Austen progress from the very simplest of stories and as she developed her style and sharpened her wit.

From early on, Austen has a capacity for parody and wealthy were already one of her targets. As were foolish lovers. And fools of any ilk - and there tended to be more fools than not in her early pieces. Perhaps an indication that her early writings were intended solely to amuse her family. Austen also developed an early mastery for the art of miscommunication and misunderstanding, which particularly shown in an epistolary piece.

This collection ranges from very early pieces to her unfinished adult work, Lady Susan, and include some unfinished work and bits of correspondence. The book also contains an early poem by Austen, textual notes, a chronology, contextual notes, and an introduction by Christine Alexander. It's a treasure trove for Austenites! It was the perfect nightstand book (and I'm not sure it's something you could read straight through) and a keeper.

Life: It Goes On: December 8, 2015

Oh holy night, how did it get to be Tuesday already?!

This Week I'm:

Listening To: I'll finish Cry, The Beloved Country this week and be sad when it's done. For a book that was written almost 70 years ago, it's remarkably pertinent to today and so beautifully written. I think I may spend the rest of the year catching up on podcasts instead of starting another book. So many to catch up on.

Watching: All caught up on "Fargo." Anyone else watching it? Any guess as to how many people might still be alive by the end of the season? Trying to get caught up with "Manhattan" as well. Do you watch "The Voice?" I feel like we just watched the winning performance last night. Wow! Jordan Smith done Freddie Mercury proud!



Reading: Ugh. I just cannot get through the books I've been reading. So, still the same. Although I did add Tana French's Faithful Place on my nightstand.

Making: Waffles, fried chicken - not much. We ate out a ridiculous amount last week!

Planning: On getting Christmas cards sent this week and helping Miss H get her handmade gifts finished. This will involve making our own stencils. Pray for me.

Grateful for: Facebook. As much as it can drive me crazy, it came in quite handy this week when I needed to get some birth dates, pics of family that are current, and maiden names for a project. Thanks for putting your whole lives out there, family!

Enjoying: Lots of time with dear friends. I even got to hold a grandbaby. I really need one of those!

Feeling: A bit overwhelmed, to be honest. As usual this time of year. Deep breathe and remind myself that what needs to get done will get done.

Looking forward to: Book club next week to discuss Everything I Never Told You. And having the week of Christmas off. I planned to use it to finish things up but if I work this right, things will be done and I can use that week to do some major organizing. You know you're kind of an oddball when that's something of a gift to yourself!

A Month of Faves - These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Oops! Forgot to tell you yesterday - A Month of Faves is the brainchild of Tanya Patrice of Girlxoxo.com, and also hosted by Traveling with T, and Andi of Estella's Revenge. Thanks ladies for hosting such a fun event!

Fave beauty products this year were:
* Maybelline's Lash Sensational mascara - inexpensive, nonclumping, lasts all day, makes my lashes crazy long. What more could a girl want? I don't wear a lot of makeup but I do love my mascara and I've tried a lot over the years.

* Nivea Extended Moisturizer Hand Creme - I go through tubes of this every winter but it's the best thing I've ever found to keep my hands from cracking during the winter. And it's unscented. This year I also added to my Nivea love their original creme. Perfect for a person who may be a little germ phobia and washes hands a lot - even in the summer I need a good cream for my hands.

Fave new restaurant:
* Block 16 in downtown Omaha. Alton Brown called their Croque Garcon Burger the best burger he's ever had. It is so messy and delicious! You have to come to Omaha just for this burger!

Fave new beer: 
* Watsatch Apricot Hefeweizen. It's a winner just for that beautiful label alone, right?

Fave concert this year:
* Hands down it was the Avett Brothers which we saw outside this summer with friends. Love their music and they do a great job relating to the audience.

Fave place visited this year:
* Gotta be Lake of the Ozarks because we went with my entire family to celebrate my dad's birthday. The house we rented was great - the view from the deck was almost as nice as being out on the water. It was so relaxing and fun to be with everyone when we weren't trying to fit in all the holiday activities.


Best thing I bought this year:
* My new iPhone. Because it's gold. And does all of the things.

Biggest change of the year:
* Being an empty nester. For four and a half whole months.

What were some of your favorite things this year?

A Month of Faves - My Year In Reading

So, my year in reading has been...not what I'd hoped for. If you're not a blogger, I'm sure that sounds odd. I certainly never went into a new year with an expectation as to what I would read.

To be honest, I kind of miss that. If I only read 20 books in a year, no problem. If I wanted to spend a month reading a 900 page book, no big deal. Or only read John Grisham for three months. Or go an entire year without reading a single classic (let's be honest, that NEVER happened - but it could have). There was a lot to be said for that. I never felt like I should  read a book or, worse yet, that I had to read one.

But...

Even though I was in bookstores regularly and could see there were thousands of books I could choose from, I had no feedback on most of them. Now, I literally could add dozens of books a week to the list of books I want to read. Now the number of books I want to read before I die is overwhelming. So, like anything that seems overwhelming to me, I have to make a plan to handle it.

And the plan for 2015? It was based on challenges. I signed up for seven, largely as an incentive to go to my own bookshelves to find books that would qualify. I've finished the Women Challenge, the Foodies Read Challenge, and War Through The Generations. I'm nearly finished with the Nonfiction Reading Challenge, the Chunkster Challenge, and the Finishing The Series challenge. Two will not get finished. More on that later this month.

I set my Goodreads goal this year at just 50 books to allow for time to read those chunksters. So far, I'm at 67 and will finish three more in the next week or so. Pretty pleased with that number. If no other books were ever published, it would only take me about 10 years to finish reading from my wish list at this rate! Nine of the books I've read this year I rated 5 stars, 23 more were rated 4 stars. Five books received only 2 stars.

I read the most in September (8), the least in February (4), more paperback than anything else but more ebooks than previous years. As always, literary fiction tops the list of the types of books I read. No graphic novels this year despite my intention to try more of them. I wish I would have read more nonfiction, as well. I Know This Much Is True was the longest book I read this year, Joy Street was the shortest.

I still sucked at giving up on books - only gave up on 2 all year and there were certainly some I had to push my way through. I accepted fewer review books, especially scheduled reviews. Still, it felt like too many. More than half of the audiobooks I "read," I also owned in print, making that a great way to free up room on my bookshelves. Space I'm trying really hard to leave empty. Unless, of course, someone wants to give me books for Christmas. I'm okay with that!