Favorite Books of 2007

I guess I'm just not a top ten type of person. As I read through my whole list today, these are the ones that I love the most. Seven of nineteen were re-reads, often perennial reads.

They are listed in the order read and there is a book report for those highlighted:

Little Christmas by Agnes Sligh Turnbull - fiction, 1947. This is a book I've read many times, and simply love.

Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer - fiction, 2004. A wonderful account of Horace Rumpole's oft-mentioned first case. Mortimer and his character, Rumpole are among my favorites.

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler, unabridged audio - fiction, 2001. I love every word of this book and have listened to it several times.

Gift From The Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, unabridged audio - nonfiction, 1955. This is one of my top five books of all time. I own both the audiotapes and the print version, the latter being signed by Reeve Lindbergh, the author's daughter, who is a fine writer herself, and lives in my area.

Celia's House by D.E. Stevenson - fiction, 1943. She is one of my favorite authors, and this was a terrific story of a family and their home.

In A Dry Season by Peter Robinson, unabridged audio - mystery, 1999. This was an excellent mystery, by an author I read several times this year. It has one of my favorite devices; a modern detective solving a decades old crime.

Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin - nonfiction, 1988. Wonderful beyond measure.

Cottage For Sale, Must Be Moved by Kate Whouley - nonfiction, 2004. I loved this true story.

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith, unabridged audio - fiction, 2007. The latest in the Mma Ramotswe series, and I thought it the best thus far.

American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever - nonfiction, 2006. I found these people to be very interesting, and the book a good introduction to what they believed and how they lived.

Apricots at Midnight by Adele Geras - juvenile fiction, 1977. Such a good idea and story.

No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin, unabridged audio - nonfiction, 1994. A tremendous account of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt during the Second World War.

The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy by P.G. Wodehouse, unabridged audio - fiction short stories, 1924. My favorite author, the one person I could spend my whole lifetime reading.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, unabridged audio - nonfiction letters, 1970. Just the perfect "bookish" book. I own the print version and have read it as well.

The Lion's Pride - Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War by Edward J. Renehan, Jr., unabridged audio - nonfiction, 1998. A wonderful telling about this most remarkable man, one of my real heroes.

The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith, unabridged audio - fiction, 2007. The Isobel Dalhousie series is my favorite among all his excellent books. I am so fond of this woman who really thinks about how to live.

Dear Mr. Jefferson, Letters from a Nantucket Gardener by Laura Simon - unabridged audio - nonfiction gardening letters, 1998. I have listened to this so many times that this year I finally bought it so I can listen each year.

Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast by Bill Richardson - fiction, 1993. Another book, along with Gift From The Sea, which is in my top five of all time.

John Adams by David McCullough, unabridged audio - nonfiction biography, 2001. Such an excellent book about a man who isn't nearly as well-known as the others in his time. He is a new hero of mine.

Book Lists

On this New Year's Eve afternoon, as others planned their outfits for a special evening, or prepared food for a party, I was a book geek, excited about going through my 2007 book list, and putting it into categories.

It has been a different year for me in terms of keeping track of my books. I've used this blog instead of my print journal. I think what I want to do in the coming year is to first write in the journal, and then come to the blog and write a review. I also want to jot down more details, such as the narrator of the audiobook, and the year the book was published. I've spent a fair bit of time today looking up publication dates for my records. See, I told you I was a geek.

So here are my results.

I read 87 books in all, which averages out to about 7 books a month.
49 of the books were on audio, and 38 were print editions.
I read 58 books by women, and 29 by men.

Genres:
fiction, 26
nonfiction, 25
mystery, 20
children's picture books, 3
juvenile fiction, 6
ya fiction, 6
ya mystery, 1

Publication Dates:
2000s, 35
1990s, 25
1980s, 7
1970s, 5
1960s, 1
1950s, 3
1940s, 4
1930s, 1
1920s, 2
1870s, 4

Today's Picture/Kitchen sunlight

Book Report/Shepherds Abiding, 2003

Listening to Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon has been an excellent way to end my 2007 reading year. First of all because it is a Christmas story par excellence, and second because it is nice for me to spend the last days of the year in Mitford, the town in North Carolina where Karon sets this series of books. Those of us who grew up in a similar small town will recognize the people with their kindnesses, their faults, their eccentricities. I haven't been pleased in later years to see that her books are now categorized as "Christian fiction." Just as I don't like pigeonholing people, I don't like classifying books. I'm sure there are many people out there who won't read these lovely books because of this; people who think they might be "preachy" or moralistic. Well, they aren't. They are about regular people going about their lives, doing their best, failing, and starting again. Yes, the main character is an Episcopal priest, and he is guided by his faith, but this is never written in a heavy-handed way. Just as one doesn't have to live in England to enjoy an English book, one doesn't need to be an Episcopalian or even a Christian to love these books.

I've read only one of this series in the print version. All the others have been read to me by the most excellent John McDonough. What a great voice he has. He brings each character to life, and he even sings.

The main story in this eighth tale in the Mitford Years series is about Father Tim finding an old nativity scene and feeling moved to fix it up and give it to his wife for Christmas. He has always been a "man of the mind" and he finds a new creativity in himself. As in all the books, this is just one part. We also revisit our old friends like Uncle Billy who is trying to come up with a "Santy" present for his wife of many years, who has mental problems. We see Lew Boyd, the gas station owner coping with the fact that his new wife must live in another state. Mitford is not like Lake Wobegon, "the little town that time forgot." It is a living, breathing town whose inhabitants live their lives, not apart from the world, but in it. Some of the businesses in town are facing change; the owners of the Main Street Grill are retiring, and Hope Winchester wants to take over ownership of the local bookstore, called Happy Endings. In this series, people grow up, they grow old, they marry, they die. The books are not "sappy" or sentimental. I find them inspirational, and not just in a religious way. I am inspired to work toward being a better person, to think more of others, to live more fully. They also give hope to those who are facing older years. The people in this book continue to grow and learn even as they age.

Along with the book, this recording contains two short stories, Esther's Gift and The Mitford Snowmen, both of which are warm and entertaining and give the reader further insight into the people of Mitford.

Jan Karon ended the Mitford series, and has now begun a new one which brings us back to Father Tim's childhood. The first is called Home to Holly Springs.

Christmas Corner (sort of)

Old New England farmhouses lack closets. This house has two. One of them is downstairs, and is long and narrow and never worked well for anything over the years, so a while back I decided to turn it into a Christmas closet, exclusively. We have never changed anything in it over the twenty-six years we've lived here, so there is still horsehair and lime in the plaster, and I'm sure, much lead in the paint. But it is perfect for the Christmas things. It holds all the boxes and bags of decorations and movies and books, and isn't opened for eleven months of the year. A great plus is that it opens right into the living room where the tree goes, so we don't have to lug heavy, sometimes fragile treasures around. How I love it.

Mrs Bale reports

Mrs Bale reluctantly reports that it is raining and dreary. It is 33º but feels like 28º, with winds from the west at 5 mph. Humidity is 92% and visibility is 6 miles.

And so, with the darkness outside and many lights on inside, I've decided to take down the tree and the house decorations. It just feels like a day to clean up, to organize, to make the house "spare" again after the abundance of Christmas beauty - "to everything there is a season."

Christmas Corner

Christmas nightlight. Isn't there just something about an old red truck with a Christmas tree in the back?

Christmas Night

All tuckered out from the big day.

Our Gentle Donkey

The kind, dependable donkey is featured both at the beginning and end of Jesus' life, and legend has it that the cross on the Sicilian donkey's back comes from this association.

We have had miniature or Sicilian donkeys since 1988. We got them primarily to guard our sheep. We had heard of a local donkey who chased a dog out of the pasture, and that they would be a great protection against coyotes. And in all these years, even with the coyotes around, we've never lost a sheep. If a moose walked through the pasture, the sheep and goats would group around our late horse and the donkeys until the presumed danger was gone. But I think we would have gotten them anyway because we fell in love with Derek and Jeannie Tangye's donkeys in his books.

Well, a few weeks ago our donkey, named Juno, died. He was thirty years old. This is where the expression donkey's years comes from; they live a long time, but it is still very sad when death finally comes. Both the vet and the farrier had told us the time was near, but he lasted longer than they thought. He was thin and he limped, but he kept eating and he actively wandered the pastures with all the others. Tom thinks it was a heart attack. Juno had eagerly eaten grain and hay the night before, and his death looked like it had been quick and peaceful. After the initial shock, our thoughts turned to Daisy, his slightly younger companion; how would she react? They were very close, always near each other when in the pasture. Tom felt he should leave Juno in his stall for a while to give Daisy time to adjust to his death. She was curious and would stick her nose over the stall door and smell. Tom let her into the stall two or three times until she didn't seem interested anymore. A friend of ours who has a backhoe came over to dig the hole; there was little snow and the ground wasn't frozen yet. It took half an hour from beginning to end to bury him. Both our kids have never known life without Juno. He was a gentle soul, and we will miss him.

Today's picture/Reading Cat

The other day you saw our athletic cat, and today you can see the intellectual one. :<)

Stuart McLean

If you're burdened down with trouble
If your nerves are wearing thin
Pack your load down the road
And come to Holiday Inn

Well, we can't all go to the mythical, wonderful Holiday Inn featured in the 1942 movie, but here is an alternative if your "nerves are wearing thin" on Christmas Eve day. Head over to the CBC and download podcasts of Stuart McLean's stories of Dave and Morley. Scroll down, and hit the ? at the Vinyl Cafe area to find out how to do it. If you can get old ones, which I hope you can, listen to December 15 and 22. These will get you into the Christmas spirit, and help you laugh off the stress and strain of the past few days or weeks.

I think Stuart McLean is the best humorist, the funniest writer since P.G. Wodehouse. His humor is warm, without sarcasm or satire. He tells stories about people you may know, or people you wish you knew. They are filled with the love of family and the foibles of everyday life. I mentioned the story I most adore in an entry last December. I hope you can either get the album or find it online because it is very, very funny.

O Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is the center, the heart of our Christmas decorated home. What a delightful custom during the time of year when no bouquets are coming in from the garden, to "pick" a tree and put it in a "vase" and keep it for weeks in the corner of the living room. The smell is so fresh and outdoorsy. Our lights are the old-fashioned big ones, which happily seem back in fashion again. The colors are pure primary, nothing pinkish or purplish. Red, green, blue, yellow. In my heart, just right; the December lights of my whole life. The decorations are from all times - some from childhood, some from our time together before kids, some from our children's childhoods, some from now. Again, just right. Aren't all our trees "just right" for us? Each is individual and each is lovely. I admire all kinds of decorating when it comes to Christmas trees, though mine is always the same. At Christmas I am strictly traditional and nostalgic and warm-hearted. I like to sit in the living room and experience its physical and emotional glow. O Christmas Tree, indeed!

Today's picture/Alternative use for a treadmill

Quote du jour/Gladys Taber

To make a home beautiful, to create a good family life, seems to me a job as important and dignified as any, and there is no reason why pushing a vacuum is incompatible with thinking about Plato or Aristotle or Parker's Aesthetics.
Gladys Taber, Stillmeadow Seasons

While I don't believe I have ever, ever thought about those fine fellows while I vacuum my house, I do find it a time when I think about my home and my life. Today's ruminations were these.

I am living a pretty simple life. We don't have a lot of extras. Our furniture is frayed and worn and comfortable. As I've already noted, I'm not buying books (except for a couple). We don't go out to eat much. But, I am a huge fan of presents. I grew up with lots under the tree, as did our children. Well, those same kids are now in their twenties, and I want them to have gifts that are meaningful; gifts they can use throughout the year, not just open and put aside on the twenty-fifth. Our family is smaller this year due to my daughter's divorce (a good thing for both of them), and it has seemed like the right time to simplify my gift buying, and really "walk my talk." I have bought fewer, and, I hope, better gifts. Most of the presents are intangibles like gift certificates, and a snowboarding pass already given to my son. There is little clothing, since they both like to choose their own and sizes are always tricky. What I did get can be easily exchanged. For my daughter who loves to read, there is the annual bag o' books. They will find the various winter necessities, like Smart Wool socks, and fleece neck warmers. There are some dvds that Santa will put in the stockings. All in all, I am quite satisfied, quite content with my purchases. There are fewer presents under the tree, but I believe they are good quality gifts that will be appreciated in the new year as well as on Christmas Day. And my shopping took only three afternoons.

Christmas Corner

"Fra-gee-lay.
I think it's fragile, honey."
From A Christmas Story, 1983 movie. This is a most treasured present from our daughter, in honor of all the wonderful times we spent as a family watching this movie. It is displayed in front of the television, of course.

Pause

I had three experiences today while I did some Christmas shopping. As I dropped off the present for the woman, Jean, I saw a man in the parking lot with no legs. He walks around town in shorts, with artificial legs. He doesn't hide them. They end in his running shoes. What must he have gone through? But he is cheerful, and as I say, he walks everywhere, unashamed and unstopped. Then I ran into a woman, an acquaintance, who has had cancer for what must be ten years now. Our children are the same age. She is very religious and has never given up going to church throughout this time. And then, in the local kitchen store, a man I didn't know was buying a great set of Cuisinart cookware. I commented on it, and he said he got it for his son who wants to be a "gourmet cook." Then he mentioned he bought it for his wife last year, and then he told me she has cancer and her chemo which they thought was going well hasn't gotten it all, and in one place it has spread, so back she goes for further treatment.

All these encounters gave me pause in the midst of this joyous season, reminding me that there are people who cope, people who are suffering, people who are still out shopping. I was humbled, and moved so deeply.

Christmas Corner

Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.
Zuzu in It's A Wonderful Life, 1946 movie.

Book Passage/John Adams

Long before, on his rounds of Boston as a young lawyer, Adams had often heard a man with a fine voice singing behind the door of an obscure house. One day, curious to know who "this cheerful mortal" might be, he had knocked at the door, to find a poor shoemaker with a large family living in a single room. Did he find it hard getting by, Adams had asked. "Sometimes," the man said. Adams ordered a new pair of shoes. "I had scarcely got out the door before he began to sing again like a nightingale," Adams remembered. "Which was the greatest philosopher? Epictetus or this shoemaker?" he would ask when telling the story.

Epictetus, the Greek Stoic philosopher, had said, among other things, "It is difficulties that show what men are."

John Adams by David McCullough

Christmas Corner

Plastic, yes.
Tacky, maybe.
Old, 50+.
Loved, very much.

Today's picture/ Big Book!

While I was Christmas shopping at our independent bookstore yesterday, I came upon this great edition of the big book, itself. It is a new translation, apparently very readable, and true to Tolstoy's words. Well, really, how could I resist? Last night we read a bit aloud, and today, Tom began in earnest. I'll let him read it first since I have all these book challenges going. :<)