Audiowalking is one of my favorite things to do. I tend to stick to the same routes, but each day I see something new. Here’s what I’ve been listening to and seeing this week.
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So far, this has been a great winter for reading. Unfortunately I spent a majority of my audiobook time this month listening to Under a Pole Star, a long book that I thought would be about polar exploration in the early 1900's, but ended up being about a weird love affair. Anyway, here are the books I liked:
I thought Caroline by Sarah Miller was an excellent addition to the Little House books. I loved the way it made Ma seem a little more human and mad at Pa without changing her character. Genius. If you read these books as an adult, and shook your head at Ma the whole time, this book is a must read.
I re-listened to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe around Christmas time. This is a good story, and has so much good snow in it.
We couldn't help ourselves. We finished listening to book 7 in the car, and went to the library the next day and checked book 1 right out again. We love these audiobooks for the car.
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I'm sure I'm not the only reader who gets homesick for places they've read about in books, but don't actually exist. Walking around Asheville, NC last week made me come home and read a Mitford book. Sometimes I eat croissants and pretend I'm in Three Pines. I'm still waiting for my Hogwarts letter.
What fictional towns do you get homesick for?
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One of my favorite things to do is to write down quotes from my favorite books in my reading journal. Here are some of the best from 2016.
“She was upbeat and harmless as an educational toy, and it was never insincere - in fact, she was a one-woman plague of sincerity, the Patient Zero of earnest zeal.”
“If we want to see people take risks, we have to be prepared to sometimes see them fail.”
“She had such a demanding relationship with her own reflection. Rosaleen challenged her looks, and they rose to meet her.”
“The miracle was a quiet thing: I open my eyes and was given a chance to try.”
“Never discount the possibility of turning up an answer none of the current theories predicts.”
“Whatever else they may be, weeds are optimists.”
“Truth was never the point.”
“And the good news is that for most of us, most of the time, better times do come around eventually.”
“‘Well,’ Mary said contentedly. ‘Now we can save the next part for tomorrow. Every day we can read one part, and that will make the stories last longer.’
’That’s my wise girls.’ said Ma.
So Laura did not say that she would rather read as fast as she could.”
“I don’t care who you are or who you saved, you are a constant curse on my family Harry Potter.”
“The real gift of the holiday season, A.J. thinks, is that it ends.”
What a good reading year! I can't wait to see what 2017 brings.
I read a lot of good books this year, books that had me ignoring my family, missing stops on trains, and hoping that my plane would be delayed just a little bit longer. Here are the stand outs.
End of Watch by Stephen King - This book, the last one in the Bill Hodges trilogy by Stephen King, pushed all my good book buttons. I loved the rsolution, and the call backs to King's earlier books.
The Farm by Tom Rob Smith - It's been a long time since I felt like I was actually in a book, but The Farm took me to Sweden in the snow. This book had a great ending too.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne - Yeah, I know there's a lot wrong with the timelines, depction of the characters, etc. I just loved being back at Hogwarts.
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - An amazing audiobook loved by my whole family. Would be great for a family road trip.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein - My favorite read out loud all year. Had us up reading way past bed time. The first book that ever made my son say "Just one more chapter, please???"
Opening Belle by Maureen Sherry - The circumstances of this working mom's day to day were kind of far fetched, but I feel like this is one of the few books that got the details of my experience right.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik - I just finished this not too long ago, and loved it. The only thing that made me give it 4 1/2 stars instead of 5 was that it dragged on just a bit too long at the end. Other than that, this is the kind of book that will make you want to curl up and just keep reading.
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng - A powerful story about a part of World War II you don't often hear about.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King - A must read after a crazy trip to Maine - still good, and a trip down memory lane to the years before the Red Sox finally won the World Series.
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder - My favorite of the series. I'm so glad I got to read it again.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume - I read this for a reading challenge, and it still holds up after all these years.
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I have been tearing through audio books this month. It must be all of the cookie baking and laundry. It's really a great way to decompress after so many social gatherings. Manual labor and great voices telling me stories, it's good for the soul.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - I listened to the version read by Jim Dale and just loved it. I've seen the movie thousands of times, but this is the first time I've read the book.
I'm still binge listening to the Gamache mysteries. This month it was A Fatal Grace and A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny. I'm starting to like Peter about as much as I like Matthew from the Cormoran Strike books. That said, I'm so glad I stuck with these.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead was a fun 1970's coming of age story with a little time travel thrown in. It's a middle grade book that I listened to in the car with the kids, but I think I liked it better than they did.
And of course, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling for the 500th or so time. Harry kind of drives me nuts in this one with all of his teenage angst, but still, I liked being in Hogwarts. I'm waiting impatiently for Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows to come in through Overdrive.
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As should be expected in my house Santa leaves a lot of books under our tree. Here are a few I know he's bringing this year for my husband and kids (ages 5 and 8.)
What's under your tree this year?
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For me this time of year is Harry Potter season. Most nights find me staying up late listening to the audio book versions and making cookies.
I still have to finish listening to It, and I have the next Inspector Gamache mystery in my playlist. However I know that soon though the spirit of the season will take over, and I'll need to listen to The Half Blood Prince. It wouldn't feel right not to.
Do you have certain books that you read or listen to at certain times of the year?
P.S. I brought the kids to see Fantastic Beasts this weekend and we loved it! It was funny and cute with a hint of scary. I never really liked the Harry Potter movies, but since I wasn't comparing this one to a book I was able to relax and enjoy it.
I flip flopped between wanting to stand in line at midnight for Cursed Child, and wanting to pretend it was never published. I didn't want to spoil my feelings about the Harry Potter series, and initial reviews were not encouraging. Finally I got it from the library, and on a dark and stormy night I stated reading. I was done within twenty-four hours. I have too many disconnected thoughts to do a full review, but here are five thoughts.
Have you read it? What did you think?
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Warning: This post contains minor spoilers from books that came out about 10 years ago. If you are strictly spoiler free on The Dark Tower and Harry Potter this is not the post for you.
I started reading The Harry Potter series during a trying time in my life. It was 2006, and all of the books had been released but the last one. Harry & co. were pretty constant companions during that time. I was easily able to get used copies of the first five, waited a while but finally got the 6th, and pre-ordered the 7th one to arrive at my house on release day like every other muggle I knew. I sat on a blanket under the holly tree in my back yard and read the whole thing at once. I loved the series, when it came to the ending I was underwhelmed.
Eventually I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series. I re-read them twice actually - once for each time I was pregnant. There's something about Harry Potter that suits the mind numbing exhaustion of pregnancy. Then my kids were born, and I began to rely on audiobooks. That's when I met Jim Dale, and listened to the whole series again. Somewhere along the way I changed my mind. I decided that the ending was amazing. It just took me a few reads to slow down, and realize how it all fit together.
I'm not sure what made me go back and re-read a series when I knew I didn't like the ending. But it's reflection on Harry Potter that made me go back and start re-reading Stephen King's Dark Tower Series.
During my misspent youth I used to steal my Dad's Stephen King books, and hide them under my pillow to read late at night. He must have eventually caught me, but I don't think he was mad. (The Stand isn't really suitable for hiding under a pillow.) He even suggested that if I really wanted to read something amazing by Stephen King I should check out The Dark Tower. There were only four books at the time, but he said they were worth reading even if they were unresolved. Being of an age where I wasn't prone to take my dad's advise I didn't pick them up right away.
A few years later I was lonely while studying abroad, and picked up a copy of The Gunsliger at an Oxfam shop. I read the first four books while in England, and waiter eagerly for King to write and release the last three. I have a vivid memory of getting up early the day after my wedding so I could go outside and read Song of Susannah. Like Harry Potter, I got the last installment of the series on the day it came out and read it all in one huge gulp. When I finally got to the end I threw the book across the room. Then I picked it up to make sure I hadn't missed something. Then I threw it again.
My reaction to the ending was so violent that I'm amazed that I had the emotional energy to start reading the Harry Potter series just a few years later. Who knows, maybe that's why I put off reading Harry Potter when everyone else in the world was. When a book breaks your heart, you don't easily set yourself up to let it get broken again.
Last year I realized that just like with the ending to Harry Potter, my tendency to binge read might have made me miss the true genius of The Dark Tower series. So I started again. I made my way through the first four - the original books my Dad had told me about. Then I took a break before I started the last three. I finished Wolves of the Calla last week.
I forgive you Stephen King. I haven't yet gotten to the end of the series in this re-read, but I forgive you. The way you weave in the early 2000's into this book while remaining true to the original characters amazed me. Your world building and weaving ways astound me. Even knowing what's coming I am impressed. I'll keep reading with an open mind and a glad heart, and I promise not to throw anything when I get to the ending this time.
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“When I’m 80 years old and sitting in my rocking chair, I’ll be reading Harry Potter. And my family will say to me, ‘After all this time?’ And I will say, ‘Always.’”
Last week we had to leave town suddenly for a funeral. It was very sad, and totally unexpected, so of course I knew I would need a stack of books to get me through. I grabbed the next four books on my reading list, and threw them in my bag without thinking. And then at the last minute I took Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows off the shelf. In the car on the way there I flipped through the book, re-reading my favorite parts, and let myself be comforted by the world we all know so well.
Books have given me so many things. If there's one thing I hope to pass on to my kids it's a love of reading, because from there all of the other important things will flow: compassion, empathy, understanding, pride, hope, courage, and comfort.
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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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