Playing Favorites 2016

“If you have read 6,000 books in your lifetime, or even 600, it's probably because at some level you find 'reality' a bit of a disappointment.” Joe Queenan, One for the Books

Pretty sure you're onto something there, Joe. Books are a reality-weary girl's best friend. They lift, they teach, they comfort and cheer. They are respite on a page. They expand our thinking, challenge our perceptions, and encourage us to be better. At least the best ones do.

Here are the three best books I read in 2016:

Tracy picked When Breath Becomes Air as the top book she was eyeballin' to be a hit in 2016. She was spot on, as usual. That girl does have a knack for picking winners. I want everyone I know to read this beautiful book. Read my review here.

I went in to this one with high expectations after loving Towles first book, Rules of Civility. Thankfully, A Gentleman in Moscow did not disappoint. I loved every glorious line of it. Read my review here.

You'll be making a huge mistake if you skip The War that Saved my Life because it's a children's book. As the great C.S. Lewis said: “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” This is a very good children's story and you should read it. Read my review here.

*To see last year's list click here.

Posted by Rachel

January Book Club Selection

"And at home by the fire, whenever you look up there I shall be—and whenever I look up, there will be you." 

We're back. Let's pretend we've been abroad and out of internet range, shall we? That's far lovelier than the cold hard truth: the holidays kicked our trash. But hey, we're all about new beginnings (new year, new us) so here's to 2017 being the year we become responsible bloggers! Ya'll just sit back and prepare to be dazzled. 

Here's hoping Far From the Madding Crowd will do its fair share of dazzling too. We've been hankering to read it since picking up lovely clothbound editions on our annual beach trip. January feels like the perfect month to stay home by the fire, curled up with a classic, doesn't it? When we're finished, we can all heat some cocoa, pop some corn, and settle in to watch the movie. A happy New Year, indeed.

Posted by Rachel

Winter Soulstice

“Be Still and Know that I am God.”

It’s midnight and the fire has died. Good thing I’ve got my toasty True North socks on—the pair I bought in Park City with my adventure buddy Rachel. What I need now is Buddy the Elf.  Honestly. Then I might find myself making snow angels for two hours, ice skating, eating a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough (fast as I can), and more importantly, snuggling. That sounds right nice.  But it doesn’t remotely resemble my life. That’s when I remembered I should be taking Rachel’s advice: I Need a Silent Night.

“The Time of Being Still” could cure what ails me right now.  There’s no way to get a full week of stillness, but I’m going to take today.  My son turns 12 on this Winter Solstice.  We’ll go to his favorites: Five Guys and Nickel City. That’s not all—we’ll watch the BFG because we haven’t yet and we read it together. He’ll demand some corn and a cup o’ root beer and I’ll serve them up. Happily. I’m not gonna worry about work or college essays or wrapping and least of all mailing. Doesn’t sound like the traditional still I know, but when the birthday candles light my boy’s face I’ll fill up on tranquility and a wince of nostalgia. It will make me smile for sure. And then I’ll think of Buddy the Elf: “I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite.”

Posted by Tracy

Jump to the Skies

“We watched, and he taught us like he did every day we were with him. He showed us how to forgive.” 

Something wicked this way came. In the form of the flu.  I’ve been in bed for 21 straight hours, in and out of consciousness; there have been hazy moments where I wondered if Rachel thinks she’s ridin solo. A slightly strange thought to have in the throes of sickness I know, but still they came.  So here’s my attempt to give Rachel some reassurance and Mr. Terupt his due.  

The honorable Mr. Frost said, “There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you up with so much quail shot that you can’t move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.”  Mr. Terupt’s fifth graders find the azure thanks to their teacher who understands that the classroom is far bigger than most imagine.  Yes, he uniquely teaches math and science, but he also underscores kindness and forgiveness every bit as much. Terupt teaches lessons that last well beyond the bell. Without knowledge of their personal struggles, he gives his students the gift of perspective—and they are the wiser and more able because of it.  Would I trade my very own fifth grade teacher Mrs. Collins for Mr. Terupt.  You betcha.  And while I’m just guessing on this one, I think Luke and Jonah would too.  

Two thumbs way up for Mr. Terupt! Much as I don’t love sequels, something tells me I’m gonna be on the hook for Mr. Terupt Falls Again, and Saving Mr. Terupt. My boys are all in. 

Posted by Tracy

Weekly Wrap-Up

“One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Christmas books. Sorry Dumbledore, you can keep your stinky socks, we'll take new books every day of the year, especially at Christmas. Is there anything better than gathering the kiddos around the tree for a winter's tale? We don't think so. Which is why for years it was our go-to gift for each other's kids. It takes a captivating story to keep the tots still with all those sugarplums dancing in their heads, so last year we shared some of our favorite Christmas classics here. Be sure to click on over! If there was a Holiday Book Hall of Fame, they'd be in it. Right beside the obvious tales: How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Polar Express. 

Today we're sharing a few more worthy contenders, including a couple newer ones we haven't picked up yet but like the look of them, like Walk this World at Christmastime pictured above and The Christmas Wish below.

I'll be Home for Christmas or any of the Toot and Puddle Christmas tales

The Mitten or any of Jan Brett's winter tales

Eloise at Christmastime (and for an extra treat watch the movie on what Eloise calls Christmas Eve Eve)

I'm A Sucker For A Gentleman

"History is the business of identifying momentous events from the comfort of a high-back chair. With the benefit of time, the historian looks back and points to a date in the manner of a gray-haired field marshal pointing to a bend in a river on a map: There it was, he says. The turning point. The decisive factor. The fateful day that fundamentally altered all that was to follow."

Why oh why has it taken me so long to review this book? It's my favorite read of the year so far...and with a mere 30 days left before we sing Auld Lang Syne, odds are nothin's gonna knock it off its lofty perch. While The Orphan Keeper could prove to be a worthy contender, for now, A Gentleman in Moscow reigns supreme.

This book actually makes me long for a real book club. The kind where you all come over and we sit around my cozy fire sipping hot cocoa (topped with peppermint whipped cream and cinnamon) and talk late into the night about the Russian gentleman who won our hearts. We'd laugh at how the Bishop got what he had coming to him, then cry over life sometimes being "every bit as devious as Death," and wish it had been kinder to Mishka and Nina. We'd long to attend one more meeting of the Triumvirate, dine again at the Boyarsky, and play several rounds of Zut with the Count and Sofia. 

When it came time to call it a night, I'd reluctantly bid you farewell, feeling a bit melancholy over how seldom we see each other. And then, not ready to part with my beloved Count Rostov just yet, I'd curl up by the fire and start all over again on page one. Something tells me you'd be back home in front of your own cozy hearth doing exactly the same.

Posted by Rachel

Happy Birthday Louisa May Alcott

"I want to do something splendid...Something heroic or wonderful that won't be forgotten after I'm dead...I think I shall write books." 

Happy 184th, Ms. Alcott. I'm glad you wrote books. Especially this one. It's the book that made me a life-long reader, writer, and feminist—at the ripe old age of 10. I still have the hardbound edition that my mom read to me and then I read again on my own over a long, lazy summer. It's the very one I read aloud to my girls 30 years later. Lovely new editions like the one above have made it onto my shelves. but that old one with its dog-eared and tear-stained pages, separating spine, and frayed cover will always be my favorite. If I listen close, I can still hear my mom's voice, and then my own. reading aloud to my girls on the night they cried themselves to sleep over Beth, like I had years before them. 

As my family gathered last week for Thanksgiving, our conversation naturally turned to books we love. One sister-in-law asked if I have a favorite book. We laughed as another sister-in-law joked that was like asking me to name my favorite child. I finally decided that if pressed, I could maybe narrow it down to a top ten, although it would be an excruciating task. But tonight, if asked again, I'd be tempted to say Little Women. 

Posted by Rachel