Booking Through Thursday - The Best?

It's a week or two later than you'd expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but ... what were your favorite books from 2008?

This is a good question and one that had me pondering for a while. I read a few books that I very much enjoyed and several that were good enough, but not on my best of the year list. Let's look back and some fun reads from 2008.

History - By far the best book I read in 2008 in this category was Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. This book took more than a little time to go through, but it was worth every minute. Abraham Lincoln really was a genius and it was wonderful getting to know his contemporaries that don't always make it into the mainstream books. I do enjoy learning about all the history that I never saw in school.

Young Adult - Well, the favorite author of the year was definitely Frances Hardinge. I read both of her books this year and was delighted with both. I will say that Fly by Night was my favorite (slightly edging out Well Witched), but both books were wonderful. Fly by Night took readers to a fully-resolved fantasy world that was almost too scary. You see, books and reading were banned to most people in this world! One little, determined girl was out to change the world. She was an unlikely hero, but that is really the best kind.

Sci Fi - It wasn't the best book, but I got myself hooked on the Dresden Files series with Storm Front, by Jim Butcher. Harry Dresden is an intriguing character and I have been given promises from a friend that the series improves from the first book.

Autobiography - Okay, this was a tie and it is a tie between two totally different books. The first was Take Big Bites, by Linda Ellerbee. I just adore Linda and had a blast seeing her and Nora Ephron at the California Governor and First Lady's Conference in 2007. I had Linda autograph my copy of her latest book and enjoyed every last bite. The other favorite in this category was Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World's Deadliest Jobs, by Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand (and Malcolm MacPherson). Okay, the book is profane and Johnathan is probably not someone I would like to spend much time with (other than a beer, perhaps), but the book was still an interesting look at a lifestyle that I could never share.

Curl Up With a Book Sunday


The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
As usual, the book is far better than the movie. I was pleasantly surprised to see how closely to the book the movie was kept. Given the details in the book, that wasn't easy. As I had been told, the author's true feelings about the Church didn't really come out in this first book of the trilogy. I had no problem with he views, but I know of others who have been troubled. I think that Philip Pullman is a very talented author. He drew me into a world that was so different from my own and yet, I never questioned it. Lyra is such a strong child. She made me wish that I had been stronger in my youth. On to the second book!


View all my reviews.

First Saturday Sky of 2009

It's a bit dreary here. Frankly, that is a nice change from all the happy, blue sky that we normally see.

Another Day, Another Finished Project!

Don't get used to this, but it looks like I finished something else.

Project: Noro Striped Scarf

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, Color 211 and some other colorway (I lost the bands)

Needles: US 7

Notes: What can I say that hasn't already been said about this pattern? You never know how it will look until it is finished! I had my doubts halfway in, but the end is fine. I used a tubular cast on and castoff so the ends look very nice. This one is a gift and I think it is even prettier than the one I made for myself.

Booking Through Thursday - New Year's Resolutions

So ... any Reading Resolutions? Say, specific books you plan to read? A plan to read more ____? Anything at all?

Name me at least ONE thing you're looking forward to reading this year!

Yes, it is a new year and I'm back to Booking Through Thursday! My first reading resolution is to do again what I did last year and read every one of the 11 books for my book club. I've already finished the first one, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. The next book is Murder with Peacocks, by Donna Andrews.

My next reading resolution is to finish the trilogy of conversations books that are sitting on my shelves. I really need to read Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Difficult Conversations. As you might gather from this list, there are some things that need to be said and I am having trouble figuring out how to say them or if I should even be in the middle of the mess.

I am also really looking forward to reading Memo to the President Elect, by Madeleine Albright. She is such an amazing person and I am curious as to what she has to offer. Young Man is eager for me to catch up to him in the Inheritance series, by Christopher Paolini. I have only read Eragon. He has finished Eragon and Eldest and is 400+ pages into Brisingr (since Christmas Day). I have a significant stash of young adult books waiting for me thanks to the wonderful reviews from Elizabeth Bird. Finally, I am enjoying the book lover site, Goodreads. Between that and Ravelry, it's a wonder I have any time for reading (or knitting or quilting)!

There is photographic proof that I have made time for some other projects. I give you a so-so picture of the first finished item of 2009!

Project: NFL Team Quilt

Size: Twin

Materials: NFL team fabrics with Kona white and black in snowball blocks.

Notes: These are blocks from a block swap that I was in years ago in the About.com Quilting forum. It was after this one that I gave up on block swaps. I thought that the instructions were very clear, but it was surprising to me how many ways people could interpret them! I had to rework nearly half of the blocks before I could put the quilt top together. The final result was worth the trouble. Young Man grew out of his I-Spy quilt (I had cleverly made it reversible so we did get a little more time with it) and really wanted something more grown up. He loves football and was excited to learn that this set of blocks was for him.