2010 Reading Wrap Up

My 2010 Reading Wrap-Up

• Jan. 2nd, 2011 at 5:00 PM

A look back at a year in reading….
I read 207 books in 2010, seven more than I finished in 2009. From that total, 88 of the books are from a book series, either young adult, mystery or romance. Some are new series that I got sucked in to this year; others are from series that I’ve been following for years. I read a lot of romances in 2010, and reread quite a few books. Books are my escape, and I really needed one in 2010.

By the Numbers
Total: 207
Number of books that I'd read before: 45
Non-Fiction: 10
Mysteries: 26
Romance: 112
Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 18
Young Adult: 19
Anthologies/Short Story Collections: 6
Here are the books that stood out for me in 2010...
“A Matter of Class” by Mary Balogh. Balogh writes a great romance, but this novella, released near the start of the year, was so good that when I finished my library copy, I went online and ordered a copy of my own. And then I reread it this month when I was looking for an escape.
Other good romances include “A Lady’s Guide to Improper Behavior” by Suzanne Enoch, “A Countess Below Stairs” by Eva Ibbotson, “Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake” by Sarah Maclean and “Love in the Afternoon” by Lisa Kleypas, the finale in her Hathaway family series. I recommend reading the series first, all the books are excellent.
Charles Finch has a series about a gentleman named Lennox, living in Victorian England, who solves mysteries. The first is “A Beautiful Blue Death” and there are at least three more, all of which I inhaled this year. Lisa Lutz has a great series that begins with “The Spellman Files.” If you like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, you will like the Spellmans.
Markus Zusak’s “The Book Thief” will haunt you long after you put it down. Sara Gruen’s “Water for Elephants” was fantastic, and you should read it before the movie comes out this year. I finally read “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman, and damn, was it good. A series written for the young adult market by L.A. Meyer begins with “Bloody Jack – Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary Jack Faber, Ship’s Boy.” It’s a lot of fun.
Michael Perry’s “Population: 485 – Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time” was a fun, yet tough read. You get quite the vocabulary lesson from it, and Jace did a book report on it this winter. He said Perry uses too many metaphors. If you grew up in a small town, you will probably appreciate “Population: 485.” Other books to consider reading are “Discord’s Apple” by Carrie Vaughn and “The Secret of Everything” by Barbara O’Neal.

What’s ahead for 2011? I have a few library books to get through, and then I’m going to embark on my seven-month countdown to the final movie in the Harry Potter series by reading one book a month until the movie comes out. I may take on the “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy, and maybe I’ll finally get my Mom off my back by reading “The Power of One.” Or not. I’m contrary that way.

2009 Reading Wrap Up

My 2009 Reading Wrap-up

• Jan. 3rd, 2010 at 2:35 PM

While looking back on the 200 books I read in 2009, I found it fascinating how some of the books are still so vivid in my mind while there are others I’d forgotten that I read. The books that shine brightly for me feel like I just put them down yesterday, instead of many months ago. I read most of them in the second half of the year, as I had not hit 100 by July 1. A lot of reading happened in August, when Jace was away.

People have asked how I am able to read so many books. Yes, I do read pretty fast, plus I usually have more than one book going at a time. That allows me to pick and choose what to read depending on my mood or how tired I am. Books I call "brain fluff" are easier to handle when fatigued. You'd think after all these years, I'd know better than to pick up a thriller or mystery at bedtime, but no. There are still nights when I stay up almost to the hour my alarm is set to go off because I could not put a book down. It's hard to sleep when I want to know "whodunit."

By the Numbers
Total: 200
Number of books that I'd read before: 28
Non-Fiction: 13
Mysteries: 35
Romance: 55
Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 57
Young Adult: 23
Anthologies/Short Story Collections: 11

I discovered several new authors (to me anyway) and series this year. I liked books by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, she calls her books "historical horror" and they follow an ancient vampire through different periods of history. I finally tried Jasper Fforde's "Thursday Next" novels about a woman who is able to jump in and out of books. I discovered Georgette Heyer, who pioneered the historical romance genre, and loved the few titles of hers that I read, especially "Devil's Cub" and "The Grand Sophy."

Here are the Top 10 books (or authors) I read in 2009, in no particular order...

- "Love Walked In" and "Belong to Me" by Marissa de los Santos. (She's a poet, and her books have a lyrical quality that I admire, and she creates characters you fall in love with. "Belong to Me" is a sequel to "Love Walked In.")

- "Till There Was You" by Lynn Kurland. Kurland writes some great time travel romances. This one revisits characters from earlier books and introduces a whole new cast of characters that I hope there will be books written about. She's got a great back-catalogue of titles. Start with "A Dance Through Time."

- "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie" by Alan Bradley is the introduction of a young British girl who is fascinated by chemistry and has an uncanny talent for getting herself in trouble and solving mysteries. The next book comes out this year.

- "Chosen By a Horse" by Susan Richards is a memoir of a woman with a rough past who adopts an abused horse. If you are half as horse-crazy as I am, this book will break your heart.

- "Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends" by William "Wild Bill" Guarnere and Edward "Babe" Heffron, with Robyn Post. Two men from Easy Company, whose story was shared in "Band of Brothers" share their side of the story.

- "Land of a Hundred Wonders" by Lesley Kagen. Kagen wrote "Whistling in the Dark," one of my favorite books from 2008. This one is part drama, part mystery and part romance, and it adds up to an incredible story.

- "What Happens in London" by Julia Quinn is another great romance and moved into my Top 3 favorite books by Quinn.

- "Let Me In" by John Ajvide Lindquist. The novel that the movie "Let the Rights Ones In" was based on. Creepy and horrifying and brilliant.

- "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. The story jumps between modern day and World War II as an American journalist living in Paris tries to solve the mystery of what happens to a Jewish girl who once lived in the apartment the journalist's father-in-law grew up in.

- "Another Life" by Andrew Vachss - the final book in his Burke series. It is a dark series about a "family" of crooks with a vendetta against those who abuse children.

Honorable Mention - "An Echo in the Bone" by Diana Gabaldon, which might have ranked higher if she hadn't left readers dangling off so many cliffs. It's the latest in her series about Claire Randall Fraser, a World War II nurse who travels through time.

2008 Reading Roundup

Wrapping up my 2008 reading list

• Jan. 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 PM

My 2008 reading list of 225 books includes at least 36 books that I read for a second (or third or more time), including books by Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison and Charlaine Harris. Sixteen of the books were non-fiction, 26 were written for the young adult/kid’s market and 12 of the books were anthologies of short stories or novellas. I tend to read a lot of books that could be called sci-fi/fantasy, but can also be classified as a romance or mystery.
I discovered several new series this year that I really enjoyed, including the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, Toni L.P. Kellner’s Laura Fleming mysteries, and Nancy Martin’s Blackbird Sisters mysteries.
Of my non-fiction reads, my favorite was “Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.”
My favorite books of the year include Lisa Kleypas’ “Sugar Daddy” and “Blue-Eyed Devil.” She has a third book coming out in 2009 that is a companion to those two. She usually writes historical romances, but these are contemporary romances which I usually don’t like. I loved hers. Julia Quinn released two books: “Lost Duke of Wyndham” and “Mr. Cavendish, I Presume” that I enjoyed.
“The Tales of Beetle the Bard” by J.K. Rowling was a fun, quick read, but doesn’t fill the gap left by the end of the Harry Potter series. Curse her for creating a world I want more of, NOW. At least there’s fan-fiction.
My favorite book of the year is “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Please read it and let me know what you think.
I’m not going to try to forecast my reading for 2009, but I do hope to have the discipline to read the books I have and buy fewer books. I keep track of upcoming releases on my Amazon.com wishlist that helps me order copies from the library early to avoid waiting too long in the queue. I welcome recommendations from others on titles to read.

I began tracking the books I read in January 2007, and now wish I'd started doing it long before that. I'm sharing my reading wrap-ups here, since my LJ account where I track my books read is set to private/friends only.

2007 Reading Wrap-Up

• Jan. 1st, 2008 at 12:17 PM

Well, I didnt' finish Colbert's book on NYE, but I did read at least 176 books in 2007. I may have missed a few along the way, and only counted HP7 once.
My 2007 reading list includes at least 43 books that I read for a second (or third or more time), including titles from the Trixie Belden series, the first six Harry Potter books, and a few romance authors that I read in my teens. Twenty-three of the books were non-fiction, most read during Lent.

I discovered at least three new series this year that I really enjoyed, including the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, the Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson and Stephenie Meyer's trilogy.
Of my non-fiction reads, my favorites were
"The Greatest Game Ever Played"
"Ghost Soldiers"
"The Great Raid" by William Breuer
"Point Last Seen" by Hannah Nyala
"True Grace" a biography of Princess Grace of Monaco.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was my favorite book of the year. "From a Whisper to a Scream" by Charles de Lint was fabulous. The first novel by Hannah Nyala, "Leave No Trace," was engrossing.
The reading forecast for 2008 will likely include me diving back into the works of Tolkein, and I want to re-read "The Right Stuff."
I have a long, long wish-list on Amazon.com of books that will be released in 2008 by some of my favorite authors, as well as a lengthy list of non-fic books that appeal to me. I have many books on reserve at the library, I'm just waiting for my turn in the queue. I am also surrounded by stacks of books at home that need to be read. In 2008, I hope to replace quantity with quality.

I finished my first book this morning, something I picked up at the Evil Empire last night on a whim. It's the third in a trilogy by Mary Balogh that has been re-issued, "The Devil's Web." It was a bit dark, but it wrapped up the story of characters introduced in the first book. It's not a book I anticipate rereading.

Carving out a memory

(A column originally published in December 2005)

It stands in the corner of the boy’s room, ready to be called into action to slay dragons, engage in a duel, or defend the castle. A sword, carved out of wood and highly polished, that looks like a cross between a cutlass and a saber.
The little boy had asked for this special gift, and watched as it was carved. He stood in a basement woodshop, lined with workbenches and machines, with tools hanging on the walls and a large window letting in light. Warned not to touch the saw or tools, the boy looked on in wide-eyed wonder as a piece of wood plucked from the lumber pile became a sword.
A pencil was used to sketch the basic shape of the sword on the wood, and a saw cut it out. The sword was carefully smoothed to prevent any splinters from piercing small hands before being presented to the boy.
Other examples of the woodcarver’s craft are in the boy’s room. A small wooden dog stands on his bookshelf and a finely detailed silhouette of a Native American warrior hangs on the wall near his bed.
The hands that lovingly carved the sword are idle now, and the woodshop is dusty with disuse.
My grandfather, the woodcarver, turns 85 this month.
Alzheimer’s has slowly been taking him away from us. The only blessing is that he still knows my grandmother, his anchor to the present. The moments when a familiar twinkle return to his bright blue eyes are few and far between.
The little boy, my son, says he remembers watching “Big Buppa,” his great-grandfather, carve the sword. I’ve told him stories about the active man I remember from my childhood. A veteran of World War II who worked as a teacher, school principal and for the Community Action Agency. He would delight young grandchildren with his rendition of the ABCs, jumping up and being silly when he got to the letter P. I remember getting tractor rides and watching him use a bulldozer he had bought at auction.
Grandpa would stride around the farm where he raised his large family, always with some project to work on. Tending the vegetable garden and raspberry patch, cutting wood for the sauna or fireplace and making magic in his woodshop kept him busy. Those who borrowed tools and didn’t put them away risked his wrath. He loved to travel, and a trip he and Grandma took with my family in the Southwest is a treasured memory. Home movies document the trips he took his family on, out west and even to Alaska. Other home movies show family sleigh rides in winter, kids sledding in front of the house, and the day my mom rode her pony to school.
It has been a few years now since Grandpa has recognized me, and most of his extended family and friends are now strangers to him. But those who know and love him remember the man he was, and my son has his wooden sword, and the memory of “Big Buppa” carving it for him.

In loving memory of Tom Vizanko

(A column originally published in July 2007)

Helping to write my grandfather’s obituary was one of the most difficult writing assignments in my life.
Grandpa passed away at home with his beloved wife, my mother and several more of his daughters at his side on the first day of this month. My father called at 4 a.m. to share the news. Later that morning, Dad E-mailed the first draft of the obituary to me. It was an honor to take the details of my grandfather’s life — his birth, education, service to his country and community and the family he created with Grandma — and weave them into a brief story.
Nothing prepares you for the reality of losing a loved one, though Grandpa had been slipping away from us for years because of Alzheimer’s. My grandmother’s devotion to him never wavered as she cared for him at home. It is a testament to the power of love that even after Grandpa could no longer remember his grandchildren and children, some part of him still seemed to recognize his wife.
My grandparents met in early 1941, at the front desk of the junior college library where Grandma worked. Library patrons were not allowed in the stacks then, and after Grandma had assisted him, Grandpa asked her, “Do you cook, too?”
Grandma remembers their first date was on Valentine’s Day, and they watched a Henry Fonda movie. They married on Sept. 12, 1941.
When the United States entered World War II that December, my grandfather left college to go to work. He then joined the Army Air Corps, serving with the 433rd Troop Transport, the 69th Squadron in the Pacific Theatre, from New Guinea to Japan. He was discharged in March 1946. My grandmother still has the letters they wrote to each other during that time.
After the war, Grandpa continued his education, earning first an associate’s degree, then a bachelor’s and a master’s. He began working as a teacher, then became a school principal. He left the education field to work as the executive director of the newly formed Community Action Agency, but education was still important to the family. After giving birth to 13 children, and with the youngest starting school, my grandmother went to college and earned a degree for a career in teaching.
Grandpa and Grandma bought a former dairy farm nestled between two hills north of Ironwood, Mich. during Memorial Day weekend in 1960. Maple Hill Farm became a second home for their grandchildren. Being the first to spot the television towers on the back hill was always a part of trips to visit them. The towers served as a beacon home.
My grandparents loved to travel, visiting Alaska four times, criss-crossing the continental United States to visit family and friends and making several journeys overseas to visit Finland, Australia, Europe and Asia.
My grandparents’ love and devotion to each other for over 65 years of marriage humbles me. They brought 13 children into this world, and worked hard to provide a home for their family, supporting each other as they continued their educations. They mourned together after the loss of an infant son. Their relationship is an example to all of what true love means.
After so many years of traveling with his wife and family, my grandfather made the trip home alone. Left behind to mourn his death and celebrate his life are his wife, 12 children, 28 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, three great-great grandchildren, three sons-in-law, two daughters-in-law, a sister, a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law, two nieces, a nephew and many extended family members and friends.
I had the week off, so my son and I were able to be in the Upper Peninsula to spend time with our extended family. Almost all of Grandpa’s surviving family members were on hand for a memorial Mass on a sultry Friday afternoon. We sang his favorite hymns, listened to a haunting and lovely rendition of “Ave Maria” and to a brief eulogy delivered by his eldest son. After the service, family and friends gathered for a meal. Photographs of Grandpa, family and friends were on display and flashing on a screen in a digital slide show.
Sunshine from a bright, blue sky filtered through the trees, dappling the cemetery with light last Saturday morning as the family gathered for a final goodbye. Several generations gathered around Grandma in a circle of support during the brief inurnment service.
She didn’t want to watch his ashes lowered into the ground, so many of us joined my grandmother on a pilgrimage through the cemetery, visiting the graves of her parents and brother-in-law. My mother stayed behind, and the city worker standing by to replace the soil and grass over Grandpa’s grave shared a story with her.
While he was there to dig the hole, he saw something he doesn’t usually see at that time of day. An eight-point buck in velvet appeared in the cemetery near the place my grandfather would be laid to rest near his infant son and his parents. Grandpa finally got the buck that had eluded him during many hunting seasons.
May God bless you, Grandpa, as you watch over your family from above. The legacy of your life carries on in the hearts and memories of all who love you.

With rocks in my pockets...

(A column originally published in August 2007)

Some might call me crazy for wading into Lake Superior with my jeans rolled up past my knees on a hunt for agates. Many say the water is too cold, and even my son howled when he ventured in.
Many hot summer days in my childhood were spent at a sandy Lake Superior beach. The south shore of the lake is home to some of my favorite places to visit when I’m in the Upper Peninsula - McLain State Park, the mouth of the Presque Isle River, Black River Harbor, Misery Bay, Saxon Harbor, and Little Girl’s Point. Each site has a magic of its own.
It was a Friday evening, and my son and I had driven out to the lake from my grandmother’s house to watch the sun set over Lake Superior at Little Girl’s Point, which is located over 20 miles north of Ironwood. The area is named for a Native American legend of a lost daughter of the Chippewa who disappeared in that area before her wedding.
The trip was made so I could fulfill a promise made when we were in the Upper Peninsula at the beginning of the month. My son wanted to go out to the lake, but with family coming in for my grandfather’s memorial Mass, and getting things ready, we had no time.
The road out to the lake winds through trees that reach out to each other over the asphalt, sheltering the road in a tunnel-like effect. Trips to Little Girl’s Point aren’t complete without a stop at a spring that is piped up along the roadway. Visitors fill bottles with some of the best water you’ll ever taste.
I was the first to spot the blue line on the horizon, and we were soon pulling into the parking lot of the beach at the county park. We made our way down the path to the lake, to a beach not suitable for bare feet. I didn’t want to mess up my favorite pair of sandals, so I slipped them off and gritted my teeth to walk across patches of rock to the lake. My son wore water shoes and had no trouble navigating his way to the water.
The first shock of cold water quickly fades away. I was bent over, peering through the water and reaching out for any rocks that caught my eye. The water lapping at the shore often distorts the view, but my pockets soon filled up. It is not possible for me to leave the lake without a few stones, I’ve been carrying rocks home from the lake since I was small.
My son, who changed into his swim trunks, was exploring the beach and having fun pushing a big piece of driftwood out into the lake, then watching the water effortlessly move the driftwood back to shore. We weren’t troubled by bugs, and the beach was almost empty, the only other people there was a family about 200-yards down the beach.
The lake was calm and mirror-smooth, ideal for skipping rocks. As the sun dipped lower towards the horizon, I began taking pictures. Lake Superior never fails to leave me in awe at the power of nature and humbled by the beauty of its shorelines. The stress of everyday life is stripped away and I was renewed by the magic of a summer night on the lake.
The sunset seemed to last forever, and I was enthralled by the way the light shifted, at the path of gold paving the way from me to where the sun was settling in for the night. My son and I decided to stay longer, gathering driftwood into a hastily prepared fire pit and borrowing matches from the family nearby to start a beach fire. We kept the fire going as the sun slipped away. There was not much of a moon that night, so we soon put the fire out and made our way back to the car before the last lingering traces of sunlight vanished.
It was a quarter to 10 when I started the car for the drive back. The open sky near the lake was soon replaced by a canopy of leaves, as the headlights traced our way back, winding through the trees and past the occasional field or yard. In the distance, the light caught a shadow along the edge of the forest, a bear that changed its mind about crossing the road and disappeared back into the dark. Our headlights did not deter an enormous porcupine we came across a mile later, fortunately he was in the other lane and we had the chance to slow down and admire him.
Street lights soon appeared and the road straightened out in the final stretch home. We pulled up in front of the house and I walked in the front door with rocks in my pockets and peace in my heart.