2011 End Of Year Book Survey

1. Best Book You Read In 2011? 


To try to decide, I logged into goodreads and sorted by rating. I gave 14 books 5 stars this year.  Looking them over, I'm not sure I still feel 5 stars strong about some of them..  but my favorites definitely include- 


     

• Learning To Swim By Sara J. Henry
• Reshaping It All by Candace Bure
• Room by Emma Donaghue
• Little Princes by Connor Grenanan
• Choosing To See by Mary Beth Chapman
• The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Sterns

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?

reversing the ratings sort  - I hated A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard.  As I said in my review, it's her story, and how do you say it's a horrible book when she is simply telling her story..  but it's a horrible book and I wish those things had never entered my head.  It is horrible that she had to live through all of that.

  

The Year of Fog, The Postmistress, and Lowcountry Summer are all ones I felt wasted by time.  Sometimes I should just stop reading a book and not feel so obligated to read something that I obviously do not enjoy.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?

Learning To Swim By Sara J. Henry 

I don't even remember why I read this one - it was free, or someone lent it to me, and I didn't expect too much..  but it was one of the best books I read this year.

 

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?
  

The Room by Emma Donaghue & The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Sterns

5. Best series you discovered in 2011? 
The Flower Shop Mysteries by Kate Collins.  "Cozy Mysteries" - but a little, little, like the Stephanie Plum series.  Funny, light, implausible.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?

 

Kristen Hannah & Kate Carlisle.  

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

I read all over the place..  mystery, romance, drama, history, cozy mysteries.. but I don't read science fiction.  I didn't read any this year.. but I think I will try at least one in 2012.
 

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011? 
The Room by Emma Donaghue 

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?

 Explosive Eighteen by Stephanie Plum.  Yes, I was a bit disappointed.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

 

11. Most memorable character in 2011? 

Connor Grennan in Little Princes & Richard Stern in The Hole In Our Gospel

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?
beautiful...  hmmmm..  maybe Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011? 

Starting with The Hole In Our Gospel, Out Live Your Life came next, and then Little Princes this fall..  all three along the same theme.

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read? 
?? I think everything I read was pretty current  - a lot of new releases.
 

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011? 
I don't  have that kind of memory - sorry.

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012? 
The bible.  Pretty much the only book I reread.
 

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a  moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers! 
Nothing like that..  but The Hole In Our Gospel made me want to talk to my family right away, about what we could do better.

See what others answered here - 

http://www.perpetualpageturner.com/2011/12/2nd-annual-end-of-year-book-survey-2011.html

Preparing Goodreads for 2012

First I logged into GoodReads, and chose to view my books, All.


Then I chose to sort by date, so I could see which books I forgot to fill a date in for.  I need the dates filled in, so they register for the 2011 challenge.

2011 Reading Challenge

Congrats! You have completed your goal of reading 100 books for the 2011 Reading Challenge!

100 of 100 (100%)

Then beside bookshelves, I chose "edit" and deleted some shelves I had added this year.


I wanted to remove all of the 2011 books to their own shelf, so that my "read" count only shows 2012's books, but I cannot find a way to do that.  Batch edit says it removed them, but it did not actually remove them.  Oh well.  I cleaned out everything in my to read shelf. If I haven't read it by now, I probably will not - some of those books have been in there for awhile!


ADDING NEW BOOKS TO MY TO READ SHELF-
First I looked here for what I might like to read next - 
http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/hardcover-fiction/list.html
Then I looked at new releases coming in Jan 2012 (there has to be a better site for this?)
http://bestsellers.about.com/od/newupcomingreleases/tp/New-Book-Releases-january-2012.htm
I want to read some Agatha Christie this year, I haven't read anything by her in many years..  I thought I'd start with her first, and see if I want to work my way through, or not.  I also have never read Dorthy Sayers, so I added one of hers to my to read list - a free one found in Aldikos free books.


I did not read David McCulloughs new book in 2011 - and I love his books. 


And this is where I am stuck. Do I want to make a high goal for 2012?  Is it silly to make a reading goal, when reading is something I naturally love to do?  Will I have time to read 100 books this year?  I did in 2011..  but I cut it right to the wire.  Some months I read a lot, others I barely read a single book.  I don't know what 2012 holds.  


I tried exporting all of my books from goodreads into a list..  but frankly, it's a pain, and not really fun to look at.  You can see everything I read on my goodreads shelves - 
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4380127-heather-truckenmiller  I wish there was an easy way to sort by genre on goodreads.

My most read authors in 2011:

I just discovered the flower shop mysteries this year, and read them all, so that explains Kate Collins topping the list.  They were nice light, implausible but amusing, mysteries.


James Patterson is a favorite of mine.  I don't like his Alex Cross series,but I do like his Michael Bennet series a lot, and have enjoyed the new Private series.


Some of the reason I read so much in 2011 is that I read so many light books like Debbie Macomber & Kate Collins. Fluff.

		author	books read
1		Kate Collins	12
2		James Patterson	7
3		Debbie Macomber	5
4		Betty Hechtman	4
5		Kathryn Lilley	3
6		Janet Evanovich	2
6		Kristin Hannah	2
6		Melody Carlson	2
6		Max Lucado	2
6		Heather Gudenkauf	2

Weekly Overview

Each week-end I plan out an "overview" of our week, including our schedules, our menu, etc.  I post it on a bulletin board in our hallway, alongside the kids weekly chores, dish chores, and white boards where we leave notes if anyone is leaving, or something needs done, etc.


This is an old version from a few weeks back - before school started - but it gives you the general idea.  (I use google docs for almost everything - including this)

Week Overview

An Overview of Our Week

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
WEATHER	77	81	77	75	77
SCHEDULE	9:20 Luke Derm 10:30 Nate to work 3:10  Matt to FB           Meg to CG 3:30 Pu Nate        Deliver Meal 4:30 Pu Meg 6 PU Matt 6:20 PU Amy 6:45 Zumba	10:30 Nate to Work 1:15 Luke to RC 3:10 Matt to fb 3:30 PU Nate 6 PU Matt 7 Scouts	10:30 Nate to work 1:30 Meg Piano 2:00 Pu Meg 3:10 Matt to fb 3:30 PU Nate 4:30 Pu Matt 6 PU Matt 7 Dan teach BS	10:30 Nate to work 3:10  Matt fb          Meg to CG 3:30 Pu Nate 6 PU Matt 6:30 Boys BBALL	10:30 Nate to work 3:10 Matt to fb 3:30 Pu Nate 5 Pu Matt 5:30 Meg to School Dan & Me to amish sale preview
Kids Schedule (items I do not need to drive them too)	3-6 luke wk 7-10 boys to grandpas	8am run 3-6 Luke wk	3-6 Luke wk	3-6 Luke Work	8am run 3-6 Luke Work
MEALS	Breakfast - Mom - Smoothies, croissants   Lunch - hamburgs & corn on the cob     Supper - chicken, baked potatoes, corn	Breakfast - Meg french toast Lunch -  Chicken salad sandwiches     Supper - casserole - chicken pot pie?	Breakfast -  Matt - Casserole Lunch - hot dogs, leftovers       Supper  - Pasta Night - spaghetti?	Breakfast -   Luke -   pancakes Lunch - mac & cheese       Supper -    Vegetable soup, sandwiches	Breakfast - Nate - oatmeal      Lunch - leftovers, or breakfast      Supper - Pizza
WEEKLY CHORES	Bedrooms Porch	kitchen & laundry room	paperwork	living room & dining room	Top to bottom quick clean
EXERCISE	walk run zumba	walk Bike wifit 30 min	walk c25k wifit 30 min	walk Bike wiifit 30 min	walk c25k wifit 30 min

BSF Starts Soon!

This year, we'll be studying the book of Acts.  Classes start a week from Wednesday, on September 14th.

Each week we receive notes and questions.  The questions are broken into daily assignments for reading and answering.  When we attend the next week, we start in full group - all of us meeting together to hear announcements and sing praise songs.  Then we split into our assigned small groups, to discuss our answers from the daily assignments, and take prayer requests.  After that we return to the sanctuary where all of us will sing a couple more songs, then hear a lecture on the text.    On our way out, we'll receive the notes and questions to work on for the next week.

It's an amazing way to study the word of God!

From the BSF website - http://www.bsfinternational.org

During 2011-2012, BSF classes around the world are studying the Acts of the Apostles

For 33 weeks, class members have the opportunity to learn how this important book speaks to our daily lives in the 21st Century.

Each class session features BSF's Four-Fold Approach to Bible study.

While the Acts of the Apostles study lasts the full BSF year (33 weeks), new members can join throughout the course of the study — space permitting.

The classes offered (in order) are:

1. Genesis (2012-13)
2. Matthew (2013-14)
3. The Life of Moses (2014-15)
4. Romans (2015-16)
5. History of Israel and the Minor Prophets (2016-17)
6. John (2017-18)
7. Isaiah (2018-19)
8. Acts of the Apostles (2020-21)

To find a class near you and to see if it has space available for new members, click here.

Maximize Your Mornings Challenge

Sign ups close today!

http://inspiredtoaction.com/2011/08/sign-up-now-for-the-fall-session-of-the-maximize-your-mornings-challenge/

Porch Decor From The Dollar Store

This is porch week over on the Holiday Grand Plan.  I'm not quite ready to add mums..  but after all of that cleaning, I wanted to spruce the decor up a bit.  I found these fake flowers at the Dollar Tree, and made a quick swag out of them - 

A few more for in the crock, with some added peacock feathers (donated by our peacock)

and I added a fresh coat of black paint to the stand.  I got the stand for $1 at the amish sale a year or so ago.

(the flag is my daughters color guard practice flag)

The porch still needs a lot of work, but this is a start.

Peabody's Tail

All that we have collected.  He's lot his entire tail now, so we missed a LOT of his feathers.  That's ok.Below is one entire tail - I collected every feather he lost one year, when he was caged, and made a swag out of it.  (He is free to roam the farm now)

13 Books I have Loved This Summer -

Not in any particular order - 

1. Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson - thriller
2. Love You More by Lisa Gardner - mystery from a series, but I haven't read the series, just this book - the series characters are pretty much background in this story
3. Now You See Her by James Patterson - mystery - & a really good one
4. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares - beach read/friendship/romance.. but not just fluff.  It was surprisingly good!
5. Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer - nonfiction, about the American Memory Competition.  Fun read!  It was nice to have this background before reading the fictional Before I Go To Sleep.
6. Smokin 17 by Janet Evanovich - I love the Stephanie Plum series!
7. 10th Anniversary by James Patterson - a lot of Patterson's books are way too graphic for me, but I love this series.  This one and his Michael Bennet series are on my all time favorites list.
8. Night Road by Kristen Hannah - I'm not a fan of Jodi Picoult, so it's kind of odd for me to compare this to a Jodi Picoult style book and say I loved it, but that's the best way I know to sum it up.  There must be a name for this genre - but I don't know what it is?  
9. Learning to Swim by Sara J Henry - this book is a mystery, but almost as a sideline to the drama?  I'm really looking forward to more by this author.
10. These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf - another chick lit/drama/mystery.  This genre really needs it's own name.  :-)  While I did NOT like the other book I read by this author, I loved this one.
11. Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah  I need to learn my book categories.  I think of this as historical fiction, but if that conjurs up images of bodice rippers for you too..  then that's not what this is. LOL!  It's fiction, but with some history woven in.  Informative, and a good story.  One of my absolute favorite kinds of reads.  
12. The Flower Shop Mysteries by Kate Collins - cozy mysteries.  Light, fun summer reads, no deep thought required, but not so ridiculous that you have to completely shut your brain off.  It might be a stretch to say I "loved" these - but I liked them enough to keep reading the next in the series.
13. One Summer by David Balducci - not a mystery.  I've never read Balducci before, my husband likes his books though..  this is apparently NOT his normal style, but it was really good! A drama of sorts.  Engaging, a good story.