Books To Read In 2013

Updated Feb 1st

My pinterest board of books read in 2013
http://pinterest.com/htruck/100-books-in-2013/

My main goal for reading in 2013 is to read BETTER books. Last year I read so much that was just filler and fluff..  which I am ok with, but at the end of the year there were not many that had made any real impact on me.

Some of the books on my to read list for 2013 Include:

1. The Anatomists Apprentice by Tessa Harris
2. Lady Almina & The Real Downton Abbey
3. The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather
4. The Orphanmaster by Jean Zimmerman
5. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
6. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
7. Cleaning House: A Mom's 12 Month Experiment to Rid Her House Of Entitlement
8. Becoming Fearless by Michelle Aguilar
9. The Hero's Guide To Saving The Universe by Christopher Healey
10. Let. It. Go. by Karen Ehman
11. Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst
12. What happens when Women Say Yes To God by Lysa Terkeurst
13. 21 Days To A More Disciplined Life - Crystal Paine
14. Confessions Of A Teenage Sleuth by Chealsea Cain
15. Cross Roads by William Paul Young
16. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
17. The Death Of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell
18. A Year Of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie WAS on my to read list, but I just saw it was an Oprah Book Club Choice, so I deleted it.  I never like anything Oprah likes to read!

I LOVE this challenge!
http://deliberatereader.com/2012/12/announcing-the-2013-reading-challenge/

12 months, 24 books from my own bookshelves.

1.Happier At Home by Rubin        2. Not A Fan by Idleman     3..My So Called Life Wife by Horn  

4. Confessions of a Teen Sleuth   5. The Shoemakers Wife   6. The Good Wife's Guide
7.                                                     8.                                         9.
10.                                                  11.                                       12.
13.                                                  14.                                       15.
16.                                                  17.                                       18.
19.                                                  20.                                       21.

22.                                                  23.                                       24.

http://readywhenyouarecb.blogspot.com/p/tbr-double-dog-dare.html

This one is a bit more challenging - read books ONLY from my to read pile, through April!  I'm not sure how I will do with this one....

The Foodies Read

http://foodiesread.blogspot.com/2012/11/join-foodies-read-2013-challenge.html

Sous-Chef: 9 to 13 books

1.                                                     2.                                         3.
4.                                                     5.                                         6.
7.                                                     8.

http://amythecraftybooknerd.blogspot.com/2012/12/2013-mysterycrime-reading-challenge.html

I want to concentrate on reading all of the Hercules Poirot books that I have not yet read.  

Blue were read in 2012, Maroon were read in 2013, Black are not yet read:

The Mysterious Affair at Styles        Murder on the Links     Poirot Investigates  

   The Murder of Roger Ackroyd        The Big Four     The Mystery of the Blue Train 

Peril at End House      Lord Edgeware Dies   Murder on the Orient Express 

Three Act Tragedy     Death in the Clouds      The A.B.C. Murders  Cards on the Table 

Murder in Mesopotamia      Death on the Nile  Dumb Witness  Murder in the Mews  

Appointment with Death     Hercule Poirot's Christmas  One, Two, Buckle My Shoe 

Sad Cypress      Evil Under the Sun    Five Little Pigs      The Hollow   

The Labours of Hercules     Taken at the Flood      Mrs. McGinty's Dead   After the Funeral 

Hickory, Dickory, Dock      Dead Man's Folly      Cat Among the Pigeons      The Clocks 

Third Girl   Hallowe'en Party    Elephants Can Remember   Poirot's Early Cases    Curtain 

Non Poirot Mysteries:

1.                                                     2.                                         3.
4.                                                     5.                                         6.
7.                                                     8.                                         9.
10.                                                  11.                                       12.
13.                                                  14.                                       15.
16.                                                  17.                                       18.
19.                                                  20.                                       21.

22.                                                  23.                                       24.

Isn't this cool?  I almost didn't join, because of that row on the right..  then I thought, why not reread books from my childhood?  Little House on the Prairie, or some Nancy Drew...
http://readinginwinter.com/2012/12/08/challenge-anne-kristilyns-2013-book-bingo-reading-challenge/  (This will probably need it's own post, I think tracking it here with the others might be too insane.  We'll see!)

http://amishfictionreviews.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-amish-fiction-reading-challenge.html

I have been wanting to read some of these from my daughters to read pile, so this is a great challenge for me this year..  I am setting my goal at Inspired.

1.                                                     2.                                         3.

4.                                                     5.                                         6.

http://yearlongmemoir.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-challenge-specifics.html

1.Happier At Home by Rubin       2..My So Called Life As a Proverbs 3 Wife by Horn  

(I read almost ALL ebooks last year..  I think I only read 2 or 4 "physical" books.  I have several on my currently reading list at goodreads...  because I always have my phone with me to read an ebook, but I rarely carry an extra book with me.  So this challenge should be pretty easy for me, and I expect to go way past 50...)

1.Happier At Home by Rubin        2. Getting It Together by Pratt       3. Not A Fan by Idleman
4.My So Called Life As A Proverbs 31 Wife by Horn     5.Confessions of A Teen Sleuth                                         6.The Shoemakers Wife
7.                                                     8.                                         9.
10.                                                  11.                                       12.
13.                                                  14.                                       15.
16.                                                  17.                                       18.
19.                                                  20.                                       21.
22.                                                  23.                                       24.
25                                                   26                                        27
28                                                   29                                        30
31                                                   32                                        33
34                                                   35                                        36
37                                                   38                                        39
40                                                   41                                        42
43                                                   44                                        45    
46                                                   47                                        48
49                                                   50

http://www.thebookvixen.com/2012/11/2013-outdo-yourself-reading-challenge.html

For this challenge, the goal is to read more books than you read in 2012. I only read 89 books last year, 

January - 8 books read

my read shelf:

My Favorite Reads of 2012

See All Of My Book Themed Posts Here: 

http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/search/label/Books

Overall I feel like the books I read in 2012 were just not that memorable. That is why one of my resolutions for 2013 is not to read more books, but to read better books.

Gripping, Hard to Put Down

Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron

Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles) by Jeffrey Archery

I did not know this was a series when I started it..  and I was NOT happy that I did not have the sequel!  I am looking forward to reading the next two in this series in 2013.

Just Fun To Read

A year on ladybug farm is the first of three books, and they are all charming, fun, reads.  Great summer reading!

I don't know what made me choose this one, and I know I didn't expect to like it nearly as much as I did. Tigers in Red Weather: A Novel

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Free At Amazon, and it is really a fun read!

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

Another of my absolute favorites from 2012.

I Felt Like I Learned Something

This was one of my favorite reads in 2012.  The Dirty Life is about their personal journey starting a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

Born to Run by Christopher McDougal  Another one of my hands down favorites in 2012.

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce

Wish I Had Not Wasted My Time

So hard to believe this was by the same author as the Harry Potter books.  This was tedious to read,and I wish I had not been so determined to finish it - it was not worth finishing.

From my GoodReads Review: "There were parts of this book I could honestly relate to. Many of the symptoms of her ADHD, or "how her brain works", were achingly familiar to me. But those tidbits were hidden in so much junk and disaster (not funny disaster - more like "grow up already" disaster) that I found myself trying to distance myself even from the parts I could relate to. It's her life, her story, and she has a right to tell it.. I just really wish I had not wasted my time reading it"

------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer Reading

http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2012/09/summer-reading-2012.html

a list of books I read in the summer of 2012, sorted by star rating.

Christmas Reads

This year I sorted all sorts of Christmas themed books into a to read pile for the  month of December.  It was fun! It enabled me to sample a bunch of different authors, and inspired me to add a bunch of Agatha Christie to my to read list for 2013.

http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/01/christmas-reads-2012.html

Instead of posting free books here on my blog, since they are usually limited time offerings, I now post them on my facebook page.  You can see them by liking Fields Of Heather here: https://www.facebook.com/fieldsofheatherblog

My 2011 End Of Year Book Survey - http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2011/12/2011-end-of-year-book-survey.html

My favorite Reads of 2011 - http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2011/12/some-of-my-favorite-books-in-2011.html

Ten Books That Made Me Think in 2011  - http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2012/09/top-10-tuesday-books-that-made-you-think.html

Mushroom Ravioli

(That icing bag needs to be replaced..  it has seen better days!)

My goal is to make something with this pasta attachment every week...  for now, Thursday nights are pasta nights on our menu.  Last week I made Mushroom Ravioli - and it was REALLY good!  Easy too!  

This is the recipe I used for "inspiration".  http://www.marthastewart.com/317919/mushroom-ravioli  I only used portabella mushrooms, and for the seasoning I used an Italian mix, garlic, salt and pepper.  That recipe gave me an idea of how much cheese to use, which is what I really needed to know.  I did use both ricotta and parmesan.

For the pasta I used a basic egg dough.  I want to start using more whole wheat flour, and maybe other types, but I wanted to start with something I knew we would like, for now.

4 eggs

3.5 cups of flour

1Tbsp water

1 tsp salt

You can see pics of the process for making the pasta here:

http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/01/making-pasta.html

I ran the pasta at a 4.  5 was just a little too thin for me. I used the width it came out at (see top strip on the photo above) and it made HUGE raviolli.  It was fine that way, but next time I will cut the strip in half longwise.

On the second strip from the top (pic above) you can see the filling on the dough.  I used an icing bag from a cake decorating class I took two years ago.

The 3rd strip down shows the pasta folded over the filling.  First I used a pastry brush and some water around all the edges, and between the dollops of filling.  Then I folded the dough over, and used the sides of my hands to flatten it between the filling.  around the edges I used a fork to seal it together.  Then I cut between the dollops of filling, and "finished" the side edges with the fork, to end up with the pieces you see in the bottom row of the photo.

It did not take long to cook - fresh pasta cooks fast!

       

Making Pasta

Home Made Pasta 

Recipe, Ideas for Adding Colors & Other Veggies, & Tips for Freezing

White Castle Slider Knock Offs

I tried another recipe recently, with chopped up onion and bouillon instead of the lipton soup mix.  I didn't like them nearly as well - the recipe below is our favorite so far.

Burgers

1 1/2 lbs ground chuck
1 (4 tablespoon) envelope onion soup mix
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup breadcrumbs

24 small square dinner rolls (Hawaiin Rolls are great!)

Cheese (optional.  American is traditional, but I will not use "American" cheese, we usually use Muenster.  Sometimes provolone.)
pickle (optional)

Sauce
1/2 cup mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
Directions:


Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix first 6 ingredients and press into an ungreased 10 by 15 inch  pan. (I use my Pampered Chef bar pan) Prick with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes.

Drain off juices (if there's a lot of excess).

Cut into 24 squares. Place squares on dinner rolls.  (I use hawaiin rolls, because I can get them at Sam's club, and that is about the only place I shop. 

Combine mustard and ketchup and spread on rolls. Top with pickles and cheese, if desired.

Makes 24 sliders.