Books read in 2011

This year was different in books for a few different reasons. First of all, I joined Goodreads in June and I set a goal of reading 50 books for the year. When they have that little progress bar that tells you how you're doing it is ridiculously motivating. I actually went 4 books over my goal - woo! Secondly, I did a bunch of house-sitting and visiting and had tons of time to read. Thirdly I made this the year that I read a lot of books on my shelf that I just never seemed to get around to reading. I really wanted to clean up the shelves and pare down to books I really wanted to keep because I knew I'd read them again. Most of those books got donated to the library. Apparently I'd been hanging on to them for nothing.

I ended the year reading Melody Carlson's The Christmas Dog, which I initially thought was going to be The Christmas Bus because that is what the dust jacket told me I was reading. I was so confused, and then I thought it was hilarious.

My standout favorites this year - which were not many - were:

I also love the movie just as much as I love the book, despite their differences.

You know how there are aproximately a zillion Pride and Prejudice or Jane Austen spin-off books out there? I read quite a few of them this year. This one was probably my favorite.

I try to read a certain amount of classics a year, and really I blame the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde with all their classic literature characters and inside jokes. This year I didn't get to very many because the ones I seemed to choose were monsters or the kind you have to kind of slog through. This book was both - yet it was amazing!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this next book but it. was. hilarious. Over-the-top, but hilarious and I really enjoyed it. The rest of the series was a complete disappointment.

This book was a bit of a slog because of all the history that seemed slightly unrelated, but actually wasn't. Still, it totally made me want to become a mystery writer.

Some of the books I finally got around to reading off my shelves this year were 3 books by Molly Gloss. Loved them. However, there were seriously awkward and horrible intimate encounters in the first two. So awkward I almost wondered if she was trying to make the reader uncomfortable? Other than those brief and completely random scenes her books are awesome. The Hearts of Horses didn't have a scene like that but this book was awesome for many other reasons.

Last but not least of my favorites was Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson. I've read two of her Faery Rebels series and finally got my hands on a copy of this book. It was totally not what I was expecting and it was amazing.

I have a TON of books on my list to read for this year and am looking forward to getting to them. Did you read anything I should add to this year's list?

 

Books Read in 2011

• The Christmas Dog - Melody Carlson
• The Inheritence - Louisa May Alcott
• The Skin Map - Stephen R. Lawhead
• Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld
• The Mark of the Golden Dragon - L.A. Meyer
• Holmes on the Range - Steve Hockensmith
• Ultraviolet - R.J. Anderson
• The Christmas Bride - Grace Livingston Hill
• The Hearts of Horses - Molly Gloss
• Letters From Yellowstone - Diane Smith
• Dark Canyon - Louis L'Amour
• Pirate King - Laurie R. King
• The Cherokee Trail - Louis L'Amour
• Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
• Wild Life - Molly Gloss
• The Jump-Off Creek - Molly Gloss
• Pattern of Wounds - J. Mark Bertrand (review)
• The Day the Falls Stood Still - Cathy Marie Buchanan
• Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew & The Women Who Created Her - Melanie Rehak
• Blameless - Gail Carriger
• Changeless - Gail Carriger
• Mr. Darcy's Secret - Jane Odiwe
• Soulless - Gail Carriger
• Charlotte Collins - Jennifer Becton
• Serendipity - Cathy Marie Hake
• Louis L'Amour His Life and Trails - Robert Phillips
• Something Like Regret - Kara Louise
• The Courteous Cad - Catherine Palmer
• The Sweetest Thing - Elizabeth Musser (review)
• Kingscote - Linda Chaikin
• Under Eastern Stars - Linda Chaikin
• Silk - Linda Chaikin
• The Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen
• The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket - Edgar Allan Poe
• Divine by Mistake - P.C. Cast
• The Knight and the Dove - Lori Wick
• Who Brings Forth the Wind - Lori Wick
• Middlemarch - George Eliot
• The Girl in the GateHouse - Julie Klassen (review)
• Promises to Keep - Ann Tatlock (review)
• The Pirates! In An Adventure with Ahab - Gideon Defoe
• The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists - Gideon Defoe
• Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella
• Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day - Winifred Watson (review)
• Sahara - Clive Cussler
• The Wake of the Lorelei Lee - L.A. Meyer
• Assumed Obligation - Kara Louise
• Forevermore - Cathy Marie Hake
• A Darcy Christmas - Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, Carolyn Eberhart

My favorite photos of 2011

This is obviously going to be a photo heavy post and if you have a slow connection it could take a while - a long while - to load.

This year was different from previous years. Instead of working on tons of projects, I spent my time what I called "gallivanting" and that means instead of a list of things I accomplished this year, what I have is a list of favorite photos. And oh yeah, I love nature. These photos are pretty much all nature, all the time.

Winter 

I will say one thing for our winter - it makes for some fantastic sunrises and sunsets.

 Spring

Getting any light this time of year is such a rare and precious thing.

Summer

 My longest bout of gallivanting and therefore my largest collection of photos I had to whittle down.

Autumn

My second largest bout of gallivanting.

Winter again

What a wonderful treat this winter was! Blue skies and dry weather for almost a whole month which meant lots of pretty frost and fog.

And a gorgeous Christmas morning sunrise.

This is the year I learned a lot about tricking my camera into doing what I wanted and then got a new camera that can do so much more (hello zoom!). So here's to 2012 and the lovely sights I see through my lens.

The year of the scarf

I love scarves and I'm not sure I've said it so much to the people around me as they've just noticed I wear one....every single day.
I actually keep a coat rack next to my dresser for scarves, hats and handbags that are in a regular rotation. Today I cleaned it off and put on all the new scarves I got for Christmas.

And guess what? They are all handmade!

The pink stripey one was made by my mom, the purple ruffled, and gray ruffled made by sariejune.

The pink ruffled was made by my cousin Judy.

And this neat red one my mom picked up at a local bazaar. I wish I could link to her shop but she's only got phone numbers on her card.

So the big question is...which one am I going to wear first? :)

Merry Christmas to all

I posted this photo on facebook and everyone griped about how creepy it was. I've never photographed red lights before, have you? It is impossible! The entire room looks like it is glowing red even though it looks nothing like that in reality. And when I tried a different setting...

I give up. But Merry Christmas, anyway!

Paint me argyle....or is it Plaid?

Back in...September? I submitted my painted pumpkin to Plaid Crafts Trick My Pumpkin contest. I put myself out there to win which is always difficult but can be so worth it.

The pumpkin I submitted was actually the argyle one.

I did not win the grand prize but I was chosen as a runner up! I came in third and was quite tickled to be chosen as even that. And I didn't know it at the time but soon received an email asking where to send my prize box. Prize box? Woohoo!

And here's what I won:

A box full of $50.00 worth of product! I got a small jar of Mod Podge which....I have actually never used before. I know, right? I don't know how that happened but I'm glad I can finally try it.

I'm also SUPER excited about these:

I'm excited because I'm actually wanting to try a new jewelry technique using these paints.

Thank you, Plaid!

Currently, they have a Christmas contest going on.