My 2016 reading goals

I read a lot of books in 2015. All together I read 37 non fiction books, 5 classics, 5 read out loud chapter books, and 78 other works of fiction. So, when I tell people I want to set some reading goals for 2016 they might think I'm a little crazy. I know my bookworm friends will understand my intention to read with more purpose though. Assuming that I will keep up about the same total, I'd like to bring my non-fiction numbers up to 50 and replace a lot of the cookbooks and celebrity memoirs with books about brain science, presidential biographies, books on goal setting, and books that will help at work. I would also like to keep on reading more of the classic books that I either missed or didn't appreciate in high school. Finally, now that my kids are older and can better appreciate reading chapter books out loud, I'd like to increase that number to eight.

Because I read like it's my job, and not because it is my actual job, I want to leave some room for whimsy in my reading life. If someone gives me the title of a book that they think I need to read RIGHT AWAY I'm not going to tell them no because I have 50 works of non-fiction to read first. Plus fiction will always be a large part of my reading life. For that reason, I'm going to "assign" myself 40 non-fiction books, 5 read out louds, and 8 classics to read in the year 2016. To read my assigned reading lists, click on the links below:

Non-fiction

Classics

Read-Out-Loud

The 8 books I gave 5 star ratings to in 2015

As of today, I have read 125 books in 2015. Almost all of them were rated 3 stars or above, simply because I have no qualms about abandoning anything that I don't like. It takes something special to rate 5 stars though. Here are the eight books that I ranked with 5 stars in 2015.

Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space -- an amazing biography that made me want to dust off my physics degree and launch myself into space.

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 -- I listened to the audiobook with my kids, and it's just as good as it was when I was 8.

The Pearl That Broke Its Shell -- I didn't think I would like this book, but ended up not being able to put it down. Being stuck in a snow storm in Cleveland with this book is one of my best memories of 2015.

Above All Things -- This was fiction told so vividly you felt like you were there. If you're a fan of Into Thin Air read this one.

On Writing -- I read this once a year. It remains a five star book. Don't just read this if you want to learn about writing. Read it to learn about life.

Destiny of the Republic -- Another great audiobook. I got a lot of extra ironing done when I was listening to this.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk -- The tips in this book really work. They should hand it out to every new kindergarten parent.

Doctor Sleep -- This was another book I put off reading. I finally took it on vacation with me, and couldn't put it down. This is the older brother to many of King's early hits. Just a bit more calm and rational, but still very, very good.

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Because I needed more books on my TBR: what I've added lately

In my world, all of the best of books lists that come out this time of year are more exciting than Christmas morning. I've been devouring them for the past week or so, and now I have hundreds of new to me books on my to-be-read list. Here are some of the highlights:

I can hardly wait! Happy reading!

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Tis the season to read some fluff (or listen to it)

This time of year I spend a lot of time working in the kitchen while listening to purely fluffy audiobooks. My recent listen to The Royal We is a perfect example. This one was pure fun, and perfect for my three pie, four loves of bread baking spree the other day.

Other fun books that have kept me working:

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REVIEW: The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook

I came across The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook by Debra Ponzek when I was looking for something else at the library. The title brings to mind one of those books that tells you how to survive the apocalypse or a terrorist attack. Dinnertime has invaded us, and it is something we must survive. The book isn't like that though. These aren't quick let's throw something on the table type recipes. They're hey, you have to eat anyway, so why not make it fresh and delicious type recipes.

Just because this isn't a quick cooking cook book doesn't mean that the recipes are complicated. Most have just a handful of ingredients, but they are good and flavorful ingredients. I made the Baked Mac And Cheese the day I brought this cookbook home, and my whole family loved it.

If you're in a cooking rut, struggling with wanting to serve whole foods to your family but need ideas, or want to give a great cookbook as a gift I'd recommend this one!

Other Great Cook Books For Busy Families:

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Quick Lit December 2015

My reading this month has been pretty diverse - from cookbooks to drug dealers I've read it all. Most of the year I stick pretty closely to my reading lists, and spend a fair amount of time reading ARCs. This time of year though I just read what I want. It's kind of like my attitude towards desserts this time of year. If I see it, and I want it, I go for it!

All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner isn't a fluffy chick lit novel. It takes on the serious topic of addiction. The main character makes many, many mistakes, and is a somewhat unreliable narrator. However she was likable, and I found myself rooting for her. 

I really liked Cooked by Jeff Henderson. I found it at the library when I was looking for something else, and read it on a whim. If you missed this book when it came out, I suggest you give it a try. It really gives an inside look at the life of a drug dealer, and what it takes to come back from a prison sentence.

Until we read The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz out loud, I didn't know a pig could be so inspiring. This kept my 7 year old boy and my 4 year old girl interested, and it made a great next read after Charlotte's Web.

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center wasn't the best book I've read all year, but it had some good spots. It worked as an audiobook.

I listened to All The Wrong Questions - Shouldn't You Be In School by Lemony Snicket in my car while I was driving to get groceries or running my kids around. I usually find these in the kid's section of the library, but I think a lot of it goes over my kids' heads. At least I know there's not going to be any swearing so they're car safe.

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Why did I wait so long?

I finally read The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (AKA J.K. Rowling) this week. I don't know why I was convinced that I wouldn't like it, because I totally did. What's not to like about a fast paced British detective story where everyone has nicknames? The best part is I have two more books in this series to go!

(Spoiler alert: So many people complain because these mysteries by J.K. aren't anything like Harry Potter. Obviously they aren't, but I found similarity in the structure of The Cuckoo's Calling and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  In my mind John=Quirrell and Tony=Snape. Just saying.)

If you liked this series, you may also like:

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REVIEW: The Longevity Kitchen by Rebecca Katz

I got The Longevity Kitchen by Rebecca Katz and Mat Edelson the day before Thanksgiving, and immediately sat down and started reading. The heavy eating of the holidays hadn't even kicked off yet, but already I was craving food that was good for me. This new cookbook hit the spot.

The book isn't based on any fad diets. Instead it focuses on recipes featuring a handful of super foods like asparagus, basil, coffee, dark chocolate, kale, olive oil, sweet potatoes, and wild salmon. The book is set up in chapters like a regular cookbook - it starts with soups and goes through desserts. What I loved though is the section that indexes the recipes based on what you are trying to get your food to do for you: build immunity, lower cholesterol, enhance memory, strengthen the heart, etc. I can't wait to try the Carrot Apple Slaw with Cranberries that is featured on the cover. It sounds and looks amazing!

I'd highly recommend this book for anyone who wants fresh ideas for an already healthy diet, or who is looking to turn over a new leaf in January!

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

REVIEW: Mistakes I Made At Work

Mistakes can be so isolating. When you make one, it kind of feels like you're the only one to have ever screwed up so badly in all the history of the world. But, of course, you're not. We should all talk about our mistakes more. You go first.

Luckily Mistakes I Made At Work by Jessica Bacal has stepped in to fill the void. This book isn't 100% great. Some of the stories read as if the author is trying to say that her mistake was working with people that just aren't as awesome as her. But there are other stories, like the one by the ER doctor, that really help to reflect on when I'm up at 3 am going over again how I could have forgot to add a decimal point in the Excel sheet I was working on. Or whatever. That's just a totally made up example.

More books that get me through the day at work:

Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. I was given a copy of Mistakes I Made At Work as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers program, but all opinions are mine.

The Best of The Best Books Lists of 2015

I love this time of year for many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is because of all of the best books lists come out. I spend hours scouring them all, and adding books to my TBR. Here are some of the ones I found to be the most fruitful this year:

Publisher's Weekly

The Guardian Part One and Part Two

The Washington Post

School Library Journal

Goodreads (even the voting led me to add to my TBR)

Do you love these lists too? What was your favorite book of 2015?

My Three Favorite Christmas Scenes From Kid Lit

Children's literature has shaped the way I want to celebrate Christmas as an adult. I love the simple pleasures and uncomplicated joy in the little things. Here are my three favorites.

In Little Women the March girls know they are in for a sparse Christmas, but still find it in their hearts to give their breakfast to a local family who has nothing. Later that day their elderly neighbor is so touched by their act that he sends over ice cream and bon bons for the girls and their friends.

There are two Christmas scenes in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Both are very well written, but the one that I love involves main character Francie and her brother Neeley and a gigantic Christmas tree. In their neighborhood there was a custom that trees that were unsold by Christmas Eve were free - if you could catch them when the burly tree seller guy threw them at you. Francie and Neeley try for, and catch, the biggest tree. It's a great story that shows how in a harsh world, you can still find joy.

All of the Little House books have some pretty good Christmas scenes, but my favorite is when Pa gets lost in a blizzard in On the Banks of Plum Creek. He has to hole up in a snow cave, and the only thing he has to keep him alive is the girls' Christmas candy. Pa eventually realizes he's just feet from home, and they are reunited in time for Christmas. Some things are better than candy!

If you love these stories as much as I do:

I've searched for great Christmas novels in the realm of adult literature, but haven't found a ton. Why is that? Two that I did enjoy are:

Do you have any suggestions for me? My TBR is lacking in holiday spirit.

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REVIEW: Why don't they ever get it right? My review of A Window Opens.

I read A Window Opens this week, and walked away frustrated. This book, while having some true moments, reads mostly like some sort of conservative treatise against women in the workplace. It was supposed to be true and honest, but to me it came off as a ridiculous warning.

Look, I know a woman's decision to work is a personal one that needs to take place on a family by family level. However, if you do go back to work, I don't think it will cause your husband to become an alcoholic, keep you so busy that you won't realize when your kids learn to read, or try to prohibit you from sitting by the death bed of a loved one. If any of those things does happen, it's probably a sign that you have the wrong job, not that you can't have one. (You should probably also try some marriage counseling. If you need to leave work because your kid is sick, and no one can find your husband because he's passed out drunk in the basement, that is not the fault of your job.)

I have this frustration a lot. It seems like authors can't write about working moms without having them be either complete screw ups at work, or frazzled messes who can never be depended upon to bring cookies to the bake sale. I'm not saying life is easy over here, or that I have it all together. I'll promise you this though - I know my kids' teachers names, my kids' teachers know my name, my kids knowing how to read would never come as a surprise to me, I made it to two parent teacher conferences this week, and no one has threatened to fire me.

My  suggestion: skip this book.

A Book I Did Like About Working and Caregiving:

It's a graphic novel! Try something new.

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I linked this post up with On My Bookshelf.

REVIEW: The Secrets of Happy Families (For Real)

Tis the season for family disharmony. Before you get divorced/abandon your home and kids/vow never to celebrate another holiday with your in-laws again, try implementing some of the tips from The Secrets of Happy Families from Bruce Feiler.

I was skeptical at first, but I followed some of Feiler's tips on a recent family vacation. No joke, it was the best one we ever had. Why? Because instead of all sitting around trying to fulfill everyone's vision of a perfect vacation we banded together to dig a huge hole in the sand, and to rescue a rubber chicken from a tree. That sentence would make sense if you had read this book. Well, maybe not, but it worked, and I would have never instigated this kind of nonsense if it weren't for this wonderful, wonderful book.

If your family is already perfect, try this book:

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Five Facts I Never Knew About the Wright Brothers

I started listening to the audiobook version of David McCullough's The Wright Brothers, and I'm hooked. It's the kind of audiobook that has you driving around aimlessly just so you can listen to it a little bit longer. I'm amazed that there is so much that I didn't know about these famous brothers. Here are my top five favorite new to me facts about the Wright Brothers:

1. We think of them as geniuses, but at the time most people thought they were crazy.
2. They lived in a tent while they built the first plane.
3. They learned to fly from watching birds.
4. They gave leftover plane material to a local to make dresses for her daughter.
5. There was a Wright sister, and she was awesome.

If you love this book, you might also like:

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REVIEW: A Place We Knew Well by Susan Carol McCarthy

A Place We Knew Well is a fascinating novel that takes place in the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It hits all of my sweet spots: a historical novel with likable characters, and a good story line. Besides the likability though, what fascinated me the most was the exploration of the ways people act in times of extreme stress.

In the novel we learn about the crisis, mostly through the character's reactions to newspaper articles and television reports. At the same time, we get caught up in small town drama heightened by the fact that the residents are kind of worried that World War III is going to start at any minute. You really get a personal and nuanced look into the Cuban Missile Crisis from the point of view of a variety of people. Reading this book encouraged me to read more about the Cold War.

If you liked A Place We Knew Well try:

When I was reading this, I kept thinking about one of my favorite brain science books Willpower.  The reasons people use (or don't) when making decisions is fascinating to me, and very applicable to the story line in A Place We Knew Well.

People see the name Stephen King, and immediately decide they won't like it. What's great about 11/22/63 though isn't any kind of mystical horror woo woo stuff. What's great is the historical detail, and obvious research that went into this most excellent time travel novel.

Books I'm Adding To My TBR:

Note: Links to amazon.com are affiliate links. I was given a copy of A Place We Knew Well as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers program, but all opinions are mine.

All The Books I Haven't Read

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