Monday, January 27, 2014

Marriage Monday: Small Daily Acts





Great marriages don't happen by accident but are 
small daily acts of intentionality.





Find my other Marriage Monday posts here.






Tuesday, January 21, 2014

My 2013 Book Year Review



Stats:
Total Novels Read: 107 books (tied my all time best record)
Pages: 31,804
YA fiction: 45
Middle-grade fiction: 10
Non fiction: 9
Adult fiction: 14
# of those that were audio: 29
# of those that were rereads: 15

Longest: Jim Henson The Biography
Most out of my element: Gallant Lady & The Autistic Brain
I'd most recommend to anyone: Wonder
I'd most recommend to adults: How to Talk to your Child About Sex
I'd most recommend to teens: Amy & Rogers Epic Detour
I'd most recommend to kids: Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie or The Lightning Thief
Funniest: Dad is Fat
Hardest to finish: Garlic and Sapphires
Best Romance: Anything from Jennifer Crusie
Favorite New (to me) Author: Amy Harmon (A Different Blue)
Most people would enjoy: Someday Someday Maybe & Edenbrooke
Most read author: Sarah Dessen










You can also see my mini reviews here: 2013 Reading Reviews 

You can see my past years here: Yearly Book Goals or by year 2010, 2011, 2012

*I reread a few of the same books in 2013 so they didnt show up in my pictures. :)

Monday, January 13, 2014

Marriage Monday: Praise and Appreciate



"Regularly expressing praise and appreciation can change the whole emotional climate of your home, your workplace, and your various circles of family and friends. People grow closer in the knowledge that they can count on one another for support in good times and in bad. The subsequent exercise can help you to transform a crabby, critical habit of mind to one that praises and appreciates." --John M. Gottman, Ph.D.

Click here for the exercise from the Gottman blog.




Find my other Marriage Monday posts here.




Friday, January 10, 2014

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Reading Report 17

What I read from 
November 15 to December 15

At Wit's End
by Erma Bombeck
Nonfiction, Humor
I picked this up for book club. This is more from my moms generation but still so fitting to any woman and mother.  Humor that women and moms would enjoy the most. 


Things I Can't Forget
by Miranda Kenneally
Young Adult, Contemporary
Hundred Oaks #3 is a companion book. Kate is heading up the mountains to be a camp counselor sponsored through a few churches in her area. She's always viewed the world as very black and white but after spending the summer with other kids her age she starts to view the world with a little more grace.


Persuasion
by Jane Austen
Classic, Romance
My first read of Persuasion. :)


This is What Happy Looks Like
by Jennifer E. Smith
Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance
An email gone to the wrong recipient turns out to start up a friendship she never could have imagined. I mostly liked this one. Not near as much as the other J E Smith book I've read but it was a light easy read if you're looking for that. 


The Book of Broken Hearts
by Sarah Ockler
Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Judes journey as she's trying to come to terms and be a main care giver for her father who has Dementia.  Jude hires a boy (who we find out quickly is from a forbidden family, so says her sisters) to help restore her fathers bike in hopes it'll help his memory. Sassy and heartbreaking.I really enjoyed this one. 


Janitors 
by Tyler Whitesides
Childrens, Fantasy
First in a trilogy about a magical society trying to help rid the schools of the nasty creatures lurking around. My 5th grader and I read it. She loved it and I thought it was cute.

----
Dec 15-Dec 31



Garlic and Sapphires 
by Ruth Reichl
Non fiction, Foodie, Memoir
Read this one for book club. A New York food critic has to use disguises to get her stories so that she's able to get honest reviews and not the special treatment of those chefs who would certainly recognize her.
I very much enjoyed the first 1/3 of the book. It was terribly lengthy and I honestly got bored as it seemed she just felt that everything she ever thought needed to be included. 
However it did make for a fun book club discussion on numerous topics. 


The Dream Thieves 
by Maggie Stiefvater
Fiction, YA, Fantasy /Paranormal
The Raven Cycle #2 
I really loved the first one, and like most books expected the second to be more of a bridge. It was certainly overall darker than the first. 


Getting Over Garrett Delaney 
by Abby McDonald
Contemporary, YA
Sadie and Garrett have been best friends for years but Sadie has to come to terms that Garrett only sees her as such and nothing more. So begins the summer of detox. 
Overall this was a fun, quick, easy book. I was hoping for a little more meat but it was still enjoyable.


School Spirits 
by Rachel Hawkins
Paranormal, Young Adult
A companion novel to the Hex Hall series this book follows Izzy Brannick on her first solo mission: attending high school. There's been a ghost sighting and Izzy must banish it. But it's never just as easy. 
This is true to Rachels style and another great book to add to your list if you enjoyed the last series. Izzy and her new friends certainly add a flair to their small town high school. I'll be reading the next one.


The Apple Orchard 
by Susan Wiggs
Romance, Mystery, Contemporary
The first in the Bella Vista Chronicles. After growing up with only her mom, Tess finds out she has a sick grandfather. She heads to Bella Vista out of obligation (she's been named in the will) but finds out it might just be the place she's meant to be. A little bit of romance, a little bit of mystery a lot of self discovery. 


I also reread two books I've read this year so I wont repost them other than listing them. 
Wonder by RJ Palacio and Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen