Alabama: Inside Out & Back Again
Alaska:
Arizona:
Arkansas:
California: Dear Mr. Henshaw
Colorado:
Connecticut: The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Delaware:
District of Columbia:
Florida:
Georgia:
Hawaii:
Idaho:
Illinois:
Indiana:
Iowa:
Kansas:
Kentucky:
Louisiana:
Maine: Like the Willow Tree
Maryland:
Massachusetts:
Michigan: Bud, Not Buddy
Minnesota:
Mississippi:
Missouri:
Montana:
Nebraska:
Nevada:
New Hampshire:
New Jersey: The Fighting Ground
New Mexico:
New York: Two Suns in the Sky
North Carolina:
North Dakota:
Ohio:
Oklahoma:
Oregon:
Pennsylvania:
Rhode Island:
South Carolina:
South Dakota:
Tennessee:
Texas:
Utah:
Vermont:
Virginia:
Washington:
West Virginia:
Wisconsin:
Wyoming: The Traitor

The other big news of the day is that the American Library Association named the 2012 Youth Media Award winners today.  The link will get to the full list, but I’m happy to say that the wonderful “Inside Out & Back Again,” by Thanhha Lai and read this month by my book club was named a Newbery Honor book, along with ”Breaking Stalin’s Nose,” written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin.  The Newbery Medal winner is “Dead End in Norvelt,” by Jack Gantos, which also won the 2012 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction last week.

We read “Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures,” by Brian Selznick in December and it received the Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.  It was a great book and I liked it so much that I convinced Scott and Mark to read it, too.

So there you go, two completely different but noteworthy events today.  Happy reading!

We got invited to a Jazz game in Scott’s company suite which was fun and classy, plus I got my name announced and on the big screen!  It’s all in who you know……

It was replaced today by a flashy new one that is 1/2 the size, 1/3 more powerful, and cost 1/5 what we paid for the original. But can it go the distance? If it does, there will only be one more microwave in our future. Wow!

Goodbye old friend!

This is a re-telling of the Norwegian tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon. The characters were engaging, the writing was good, the form was interesting where it was told from different viewpoints, and it had a satisfying ending.

Beautiful novel. This book about a young woman searching for redemption, forgiveness, and love is quiet and eloquent. The visual imagery is sometimes stunning in its beauty as Livvie learns to trust and is betrayed, but finds there are people who really mean what they say. The message in the story is lovely.

Wonderful story full of heart and love and even some forgiveness.

One of the best books I’ve read in a while. It drew me in from the first couple pages and the story never let up. It’s part science fiction, part historical fiction, part medical thriller, and part religious exploration that’s gripping and fascinating. The characters were of all ages and very interesting. Wonderful book!

This tells the stories of several parents whose children are caught in a deadly avalanche and as we come to know each character we hope their child survives.  We are told at the beginning that nine children are caught and only four survive so as we learn each parent’s story we know that some of them will face the death of their child and it’s heart-wrenching.  The way the story ends as the town faces the deaths is also instructive and a lesson in the redemption of human souls.

I read this delightful little book in one sitting and it was a heartwarming story. It started out as a really sad story about an intelligent, competent wife and mother who consistently holds herself in and makes herself subservient. But the story changes as she empowers herself and grows into a fully developed, caring, wonderful woman. I loved Penny and her motto, “it’s what you do with it that counts”.

This was a searing portrait of slavery in America during the Revolutionary War period. Isabel is a wonderful voice to tell describe the degradation of slavery, the daily struggle to hold on to an identity, and the choices that have to be made for survival. Her struggles were deeply touching and it was very moving to read. Excellent book.

This was a very touching story about race relations during the early part of the 20th century in a small town in Alabama.

I loved Flavia, loved the story, loved the setting, loved the book!

This interesting read set forth a story told in many layers that slowly peeled back to reveal a grand sweep of information surrounding the historical and fictional person known as Dracula.

Loved this Gothic tale of mystery and secrets. I figured out some of the secrets before the end, but the core secret that underpins the entire story was unexpected and a delightful revelation. The whole Charlie/Isabelle plot was a little disturbing, but the book was a wonderful tale. Especially fun were the book references and the way the author so lovingly describes books and reading.

This book is based on her renovation of a Victorian home & her imaginings of the generations of women who lived there. She visits her familiar themes of redemption & forgiveness in a new & fresh way as she shows the impact our mothers & grandmothers can have on our lives, and how some men can be very selfless.

This sweet and touching story was driven by wonderful, fully-developed characters who were not perfect but very engaging. The very human touches that each showed in their relationships is what made them so real and wonderful. I loved the story of prejudice, manners, and love.

Absolutely loved this story of the plucky mom who forges through adversity to provide her family by entering and winning contests. It was a fascinating history of the corporate contests in the 1950′s and 60′s where ordinary Americans wrote the advertising copy. This mom was amazing in how she holds the family together despite an alcoholic and abusive husband. Wonderful!

Loved this book! Loved characters, story, atmosphere, writing style, and how the house was a character as well. Super fun!

I really liked the voices of this book, the mother and the daughter. It has echoes of an Amy Tan novel, although this is Japanese, in that it explores the relationship between a mother and daughter.

Really enjoyed this story of three generations of women coming to terms with life and love.

Amazing! Ben and Rose’s stories weave seamlessly, and the transitions between writing and drawing leave the reader a little off-balance because it seems like it’s still Ben’s story when the drawings begin. Masterfully done, and the story is touching and instructive.

Books read: 132
Pages read: 39,641

Of the books read:
* Non-fiction: 15
* New-to-me novelists: 42
* Continuing series books: 54
* Re-reads: 12
* Audio-books: 33
* Challenges completed: 0 of 0
* Ongoing tally of Newbery winners: 59 of 90

2010:
152 books; 46,899 pages; 3 non-fiction; 37 new-to-me novelists; 25 series; 19 re-reads; 28 audio-books; 5 of 5 challenges completed; 50 of 89 Newbery
2009:
73 books; 23,576 pages; 3 non-fiction; 31 new-to-me novelists; 36 series; 5 re-reads; 48 of 88 Newbery
2008:
79 books; 32,031 pages; 8 non-fiction; 15 new-to-me novelists; 31 series; 19 re-reads; 42 of 87 Newbery
2007:
44 books; 17,069 pages; 3 non-fiction; 8 new-to-me novelists; 15 series; 13 re-reads; 38 of 86 Newbery

This year my word is….VARIETY, the state of being varied or diversified.  I worked on balancing several things I wanted to accomplish last year and did pretty well, but I want to continue that idea and I want to do some varied activities and finish or start on several projects.

Bring it on!

Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title
2. A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title
4. A book with a type of house in the title
5. A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title
6. A book with a something you’d find on a calendar in the title

The challenge is to read your name in book title first letters, ultimately spelling out your name: SUSAN

Pike’s Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 25 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 40 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 50 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100+ books from your TBR pile/s

(I’m signing up for Pike’s Peak, but hoping to climb higher)

Read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2012

But in between all the stress, we’ve enjoyed some holiday fun.  We went to Celebration of Christmas by the BYU combined choirs & Philharmonic Orchestra at the beginning of December.  It’s always wonderful and is a great start to the season.  They had some really beautiful arrangements that just made me sigh.

I sang in the Alpine community Christmas concert last Sunday night, conducted by Marvin Payne, and got to sing with a bunch of my friends.  We had some lovely music choices and it really made me feel in the spirit of the season.

Tonight I’m sitting in the LDS Conference Center waiting for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert to start because we were lucky enough to get tickets. We walked around looking at lights on Temple Square after eating at Crown Burger, so it’s already been a fun evening.

Tomorrow we are at the Alpine Christmas show to see Todd McCabe & April Moriarty & friends, so that will be fun, too.

Monday is the Christmas book club lunch when I get to see my pals.  Can’t wait!

So it’s been fun with more to come.  Mark came home from BYU on Wednesday, Brian comes home on Tuesday, and let the party begin!