The Widow's Walk by Robert Barclay (audio)

★★

Architect Garrett Richmond has always been drawn to the ocean.  He purchases an old house known as Seaside and quickly begins to restore the place to what it was in its prime almost two decades ago.  But, then he spots a mysterious women named Constance and learns that she is the original owner of the house and has been trapped in between life and death for the past 170 years.  Now Garrett must risk everything to save her before she disappears.

This novel sounded really interesting - old house, history, time travel, romance, - but found it mostly repetitive and annoying.  The dialog seemed much too formal and fake and I just didn't buy Garrett randomly falling in love with Constance after about twenty seconds of seeing her.  The story wasn't very developed and was lacking in detail in several areas.  There was one part towards the end where Garrett and Constance are trying to figure out how to solve the problem of her being trapped among the living.  Garrett talks to a fellow professor who gives him the name of a women who can help.  They visit the women who mysteriously has the exact book with the exact information that they're looking for. Way too perfect and perfect for my tastes.  I was expecting there to be a big search for the research on what they were looking for - nope.  And there were a lot of aspects that just didn't add up: Constance couldn't be seen by anyone but Garrett, and yet she constantly talks about having to sneak around?  And she says she learns things from watching TV, but she knows what a donut is and not a credit card?  I wasn't buying any of it - especially the ending which I figure out in about the third chapter.

It was a good effort, but this book didn't offer me anything.  The storyline had a lot of potential and the historical background kept my attention, but I felt a disconnect from the characters throughout most of the book.

* Top Ten (2015)

Top Ten Books of Past Years:

2012

2013
2014

2015 was an interesting year for me!  I started the year taking two different literature library courses for grad school - LIS 642: Reading Interests for Adults and LIS 631: Young Adult Literature.  I really enjoyed both of these courses, but LIS 642 was by far my favorite!  Each week we explored a different genre of adult fiction and I was able to be introduced to lot of different types of books that I normally don't read.  I also discovered a lot of amazing books - many of which made this list - such as Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, and Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.  Even though I was on maternity leave during most of the semester, having to read at least 3 books a week for school pretty much took up the majority of my free reading time until the middle of May.

The first month after my daughter Isabelle was born at the end of January was a bit overwelming, but after she was about a month old I was able to work in some reading with her and it quickly became part of our daily routine. The first book I read to her was 'Goodnight Moon' by Margaret Wise Brown and a lot of children's book soon began to appear on my reading list!  

Isabelle with our copy of 'Goodnight Moon'

A couple month later I signed up her for the '1000 Books Before Kindergarten' program at the Waukesha library.  We finished the program at the end of last month and I am planning on trying to read 1000 new books this next year.  I started keeping track of our book that we read together on a separate goodreads page and have been making a list of our favorite books each month on our blog.  Since she always wanted be on the go now, we read a lot of simple picture books and board books - which she loves to pick up herself! - but when she was really little, I read to her a lot of longer children's books such as The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter: Complete Tales, Little House in the Big Woods, and a few collections of fairy-tales.  It was so much fun to go back and read some of the classic books that I grew up with and I can't wait to keep introducing her to more this year! 

Isabelle's Graduation form the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten 

at the Waukesha Public Library

This summer also brought about a lot of changes - a new job, moving to Lomira, WI, and completing my internship at the Germantown library - but I was able to slowly get back into reading for fun again.  Luckily, Isabelle has been an extremely good sleeper at night so I am usually able to find in a little time to read every night after she goes to sleep!  I was able to keep up with the new books by some of my favorite authors like Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult, Alice Hoffman, Kate Morton, and Philppa Gregory and discovered some great new authors such as Jennifer McMahon and Liane Moriarty.

In September I was offered a wonderful opportunity and started working at the Germantown Community Library as an administrative assistant and adult service librarian.  I worked for the first few month working at the circulation, children's, and references desks and managing the large print collection and started full-time this December when I took over the administrative tasks and the adult fiction collection.  I now get to select, catalog, and process all of the large print and adult fiction books and love being able come across so many great books and authors.  I couldn't have asked for a more perfect job where I get to deal with and talk about books everyday and cannot wait to continue my work at the library - it also means that my 'to-read' list continues to grow bigger my the day!!!

In 2015 I was able to - somehow - read 70 books, including a lot of audio books on my now half-hour commute and chapter books and story collections that I read with Isabelle.  I have been doing pretty well keeping up with my goodreads lis and blog, but would love to put everything together on my facebook page which I recently started to keep track of library, book, and author updates.  Next year, I am hoping to continue to become introduced to new authors - especially ones that I popular with the library patrons that I have not read yet - and read all of the books on my physical bookshelf that I haven't read yet (somewhere between 8 and 10 at the moment).  I am hoping to get to reading the books I got for Christmas this year - specifically 'Outlander' which I started twice already - and finish a few longer books that I have started with Isabelle including 'Anne of Green Gables' and 'The Complete Brother's Grimm Fairy-Tales.'  

And, lastly, I would love to get back into being in a book club.  I really miss being able to discuss books in a little bit of a more formal setting and also being encouraged to read some titles that I normally wouldn't pick up on my own.  I am planning on going to the month book group at the Germantown library starting in January - we will see if I am able to fit that into my schedule between all of the craziness of working full-time and being a wife/mom!  Oh, and I would LOVE to be able to finish grad school by the end of this year, but time will tell if that is going to be able to happen as well!

Happy 2015 everyone!!!  And, last but not least, here is my top ten list of books I read this year.  Happy reading!

10. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The novel is a combination of text and images that creates a truly unique and magical story.  The intriguing plot draws readings in from the very first page and the author reveals small details to allow for thrilling journey through Hugo’s adventures and the history of film. I brought this book with me while my husband and I were staying in the hospital a few days after our daughter was born and read it in one sitting. I thought all of the illustrations were extremely well done and did a wonderful job of complementing the text.

9. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

I listed to this as an audio book and really enjoyed it.  I felt that it took a different path than Picoult's usual style, but still kept many of the same characteristics of her as an author.  The book focused a lot on mother/daughter relationships that was incorporated with elephant behavior.  I found the parts about elephants really interested and gained a new perspective of animal behavior in general.   I'm still not sure how I felt about the ending.  I didn't see it coming at all and it was a little to unrealistic for me (at best), but I still loved the book.

8. The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

Part history/thriller/horror/mystery - this novel has everything needed for wonderfully engrossing page-turner that I couldn't put down.  Luckily my husband was up north hunting all weekend and my daughter went to bed early so I was able to stay up way-to-late finishing it!  The writing was beautiful and brilliant and I loved the historical aspects.  

7. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

This was a book about books and love and loss. And people that fall into your life at the most unexpected times and change you in the most unexpected ways.  This was one of those books that I couldn't put down.  I read the first pages and fell in love with the story from the very beginning.  It was one of those books that seemed to have a little bit of everything in it - mystery, romance, literature.  And I loved the incorporation of short stories at the beginning of each chapter.

6. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

'All the Light We Cannot See' is a beautiful story of two children who grow up during the war.  Two children that grow up during unspeakable times having to make unspeakable decisions way beyond their years. The novel alternates between the two characters in very short chapters, making the almost 600-page novel go by much faster than expected.  The imagery was wonderful and was, essentially, what makes this book such a masterpiece.  Breathtakingly beautiful, but a little hard to follow throughout an entire novel.  Especially since the chapters were so short and the development of each character's story was woven to intricately with the other.

5. Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler

This was an incredible book and I'm so glad that I picked it up!  The book is essentially a love song to life - to friendships, to family, to love, to forgiveness, and to small-town rural Wisconsin.  Shotgun Lovesongs is a truly remarkable book and a tribute to American live and is filled with rich storytelling and finding hope against all odds.

4. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

This post-apocalyptic novel focuses on the character of Snowman, previously known as Jimmy, as he begins to cope with the idea that he may be the last human on earth.  I really enjoyed this book.  It was very engaging and had a perfect mix of technology and interaction between the characters.  I loved how the author used flashbacks to slowly reveal to readers how the events unfolded.  The second and third books of the trilogy didn't exactly live up to my expectations, but enjoyed them no-the-less.

3. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

I usually am not super into reading this type of book, but I was hooked from the very first page.  The writing was wonderful and witty and the plot left me wanting to turn the pages faster than I could read them.  The dialogue and dynamics of the novel is pure brilliant.  And I absolutely loved the interaction not only between the characters but the inner dialog that was the driving point of the story.  Was this book perfect?  Not at all.  The characters were more-often-than-not superficial and there were way too many coinsidances to make this story at all believable.  But, all that aside, I thought the novel was extremely well done and I couldn't put it down.  Very creative and thought-provoking and not at all what I was expecting.

2. The Lake House by Kate Morton

This one took me a little while to get into, - there was a lot of things going on in the beginning that took sometime to come together - but after a few chapters, I was hooked.  Kate Morton has the wonderful ability to connect story

1. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

I have always been a fan of Kristin Hannah, but she became one of my all-time favorite authors with her first historical novel, The Winter Garden, a few years ago.  I couldn't wait to read her new novel and it was so worth the wait!  It was beautifully written and is one of the best books that I have read in a long time.  The story is essentially was 'war-time' story of Nazi occupied France during World War II.    It is a story of family and love and war and sacrifice and takes readers on a indescribable journey from the very first page to the last.
 lines in both the past and the present with seamless effort.  Her fairy-tale like description of her settings are beautiful and captivating and this novel was not exception.  And the characterization is spot on - by the middle of her novels, I feel so absorbed in the characters and, as much as I can't stop reading the book, there is always a huge part of me that doesn't want it to end because I will inevitably have to leave the characters behind.

The Lake House by Kate Morton

★★★★★

"Life was like that, doors of possibility constantly opening and closing as one blindly made one's way through."

I have loved Kate Morton's books ever since reading 'The Forgotten Garden' a few years ago - with her most recent being 'The Secret Keeper' and could not wait to read this one!  I literally had a count down to the publication date, but life has a way of distracting me lately and I ended up waiting a month or two to read it.  Well worth the wait!

In usual Kate Morton fashion, The Lake House, is full of intrigue, family secrets, and unexpected connections - with some history and a little romance thrown in there as well.  The novel weaves back and forth between 16-year-old Alice Edevane in 1933, living at her family's estate, the 'Lake House' and a young women named Sadie seventy years later who, while on leave from her job as a detective, stumbles on the old house.  Left in ruins after the family's baby son, Theo, mysteriously disappeared on the night of the annual Midsummer party, the house is full of secrets waiting to be unraveled.  Coping with her own troubled past, Sadie begins to dig deeper into the Edevane's past and soon finds herself absorbed in finding out exactly what happened to Theo on the night of the party.

This one took me a little while to get into, - there was a lot of things going on in the beginning that took sometime to come together - but after a few chapters, I was hooked.  Kate Morton has the wonderful ability to connect story lines in both the past and the present with seamless effort.  Her fairy-tale like description of her settings are beautiful and captivating and this novel was not exception.  And the characterization is spot on - by the middle of her novels, I feel so absorbed in the characters and, as much as I can't stop reading the book, there is always a huge part of me that doesn't want it to end because I will inevitably have to leave the characters behind.

A wonderful book by an amazing author and storyteller!  I can't wait to see what else Kate Morton is up to next.

This book was #2 on my top ten list of 2015.

Our Favorite Christmas Board Books of 2015

This year, my daughter Isabelle and I - now ten months old - have been busy reading all sorts of Christmas books together.  I've always loved holiday picture books and it has been so much fun re-reading some of the classics and finding new authors to enjoy.  Isabelle loves to be on the move and doesn't have a very long attention span, so we have been reading a lot of board books.  Board books have been great for us - they are a lot sturdier then traditional picture books, usually have short phrases or words and lots of bring pictures, and they are the perfect size for her to hold and help turn the pages.

There are so many great books to choose from, but here are some of our favorite Christmas board books that we have read this year:

#5 Fa La La by Leslie Patricelli
A cute and simple book about baby's first Christmas.  The story follows baby as he gets ready for all the fun of Christmas including decorating the Christmas tree, making presents, and singing carols.  The book uses simple words and phrases and is full of holiday spirit.


#4 A Christmas Carol: A BabyLit Colors Primer by Jennifer Adams & Alison Oliver (illustrator)
I loved the BabyLit Primers series because it introduces classic literature in board book format - and also teaches basic concepts like colors, shapes, and numbers.  This one focuses on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and is filled with bright colors.


#3 Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck & Felicia Bond (illustrator)
This is the perfect book to introduce little ones to the story of Jesus's birth and the first Christmas.  The book uses simple rhymes to show how each of the animals - and a few important people as well! - were part of the first Christmas.



#2 Llama Llama Jingle Bells by Anna Dewdney
Ever since reading Llama Llama Red Pajama, we have loved reading the Llama books!  They have short and simple text that has a wonderful rhythm and the board book versions are perfect for little ones.  Plus there is always a subtle lesson to be learned!  We also read the Llama Christmas picture book Llama Llama Holiday Drama.

#1 Where is Baby's Christmas Present?: A Life-the-Flap Book by Karen Katz
There books are perfect for babies and toddlers and includes sturdy flaps on each page!  In this one, baby is looking for his Christmas present and finds all sorts of holiday surprises along the way.  Other holiday board books by Karen Katz include Baby Loves Snow and Counting Christmas.


Happy Holidays!!!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (audio)

★★★★★

" 'Oh for heaven's sake, Isabelle.  Paris is overrun.  The Nazis control the city.  What is an eighteen-year-old girl to do about all of that?' "

"If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are."

"Men tell stories.  Women get on with it.  For us it was a shadow war.  There were no parades for us when it was over, no metals or mentions in history books.  We did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we picked up the pieces and started our lives over."

I have always been a fan of Kristin Hannah, but she became one of my all-time favorite authors with her first historical novel, The Winter Garden, a few years ago.  I couldn't wait to read her new novel and it was so worth the wait!  It was beautifully written and is one of the best books that I have read in a long time.  The story is essentially was 'war-time' story of Nazi occupied France during World War II.    It is a story of family and love and war and sacrifice and takes readers on a indescribable journey from the very first page to the last.  I read a lot of historical novels set during the war, but Kristin Hannah as the wonderful ability to capture a new aspect - much like she did in The Winter Garden.  

I won't give away too much of the plot, but the center of the novel is on two sisters - Isabelle and Vienne - and they're determination to survive the war one day at a time.  As the novel progresses, each is faced with unthinkable decisions that they will live with long after the war is over.  One of my favorite parts of the novel (besides the breathtakingly beautiful writing) is how each of the sisters grow and develop throughout the book.   The relationships are intense and are made even-more-so by the constant horrors of wartime France.  A wonderful and unforgettable story!!  I loved every second of it and cannot wait to see what Kristin Hannah has planned next!

This was #1 on my top ten list of 2015.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

★★★★

"So how, children, does the the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build us for a world full of light."

There is not too much that I can say about this book that hasn't been said before.  An instant best seller, still #8 on the New York Times Best Seller List almost a year and a half after it was published, and the winner more awards that I can count - including the Pulitzer Prize and the Goodreads Choice Awards to name a few.  

This novel is essentially about childhood and war and growing up in a world torn by war.  Marie-Laure  lives with her father in Paris. When she was six years old, she became blind and her father teaches her to learn to navigate the streets by building her an exact replica of their neighborhood.  She is twelve years old when the Nazis occupy France and her and her father flee to the country to live with Marie-Laure's great-uncle for the remainder of the war.  Werner is an orphan growing up in a small mining town in Germany.  He grows up with his young sister listening to the radio and dreaming of bigger and greater things than spending the remainder of his life as a minor.  When the Nazis begin to recruit for the Hitler Youth, Werner sees this as his only opportunity out.  He quickly gains a reputation as being the only one who can fix new instruments critical in the advancement of the Nazis.  As he receives one special assignment after another, Werner slowly realizes that cost that his work has on human life.  Work that will also one day lead him to Marie-Laure.

'All the Light We Cannot See' is a beautiful story of two children who grow up during the war.  Two children that grow up during unspeakable times having to make unspeakable decisions way beyond their years. The novel alternates between Marie-Laure in very short chapters, making the almost 600-page novel go by much faster than expected.  The imagery was wonderful and was, essentially, what makes this book such a masterpiece.  It was also what made it hard for me to rate this book as amazing instead of simply wonderful.  The writing was almost too beautiful - I kept thinking that I was missing something.  It was almost like reading literate poetry.  Breathtakingly beautiful, but a little hard to follow throughout an entire novel.  Especially since the chapters were so short and the development of each character's story was woven to intricately with the other.

I did really enjoy this book, but I don't think I was able to appreciate it in it's entirety.  I tend to read way to fast and so I wasn't able to grasp as much of the detail as I would have liked.  I think this may be one of the few books that I will have to re-read someday!

This book was #6 on my top ten list of 2015.

Big Little Lies by Liana Moriarty (audio)

★★★★★

"Everyday I think, 'Gosh, you look a bit tired today,' and it's just recently occurred to me that it's not that I'm tired, it's that this is the way I look now."

"Reading a novel was like returning to a once-beloved holiday destination."

After finishing Moriarty's The Husband's Secret, I didn't think that this book could be any better.  But it was.  I don't know if I would say 'better' exactly - I still can't decide which book I liked 'better.'  They were different but equally wonderful.  I just think that I was more able to relate to this one because the characters were a bit younger and were going though times in their lives that were more similar to mine as oppose to the first book.

I loved this book - and the narrator was wonderful as well.  At the surface, this novel is about three women whose children are in the same kindergarten class.  There connection are further explored through out the novel, but that's basically it.  I normally don't read 'these types of books' - I usually find them a bit lacking of substance to say the least - but somehow the author was able to take a novel about 'kindergarten moms' and turn it into a complex and intreging story that I didn't want to put down. Ever.  

The author has amazing insight into the small-but-important daily details of wife and motherhood.  The thoughts and conversations that these women had were witty and thought-provoking and just down right hilarious at times.  I cannot remember reading a novel that had so much realistic truth to it.  The only one that comes close is 'Girls in White Dresses' that I read in my early 20s and captured perfectly that 'in-between' period where you should have your shit all figured out but don't.  

Was this 'chick-lit?'  I don't know, probably.  Should I have walked away wanting something with a little more 'substance' and a little less middle-aged 'mommy-drama."  Maybe.  But it was so much more than I was expecting and it didn't matter one bit once I started reading.  This book was honest in every sense of the word.

An outstanding and real and heartbreaking novel.  I can't wait to see what else Liana Moriarty has up her sleeve.