Our House in the Middle of Our Street

  Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in late May Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard - This book was both poetic and raw, and had a few disgusting parts, along with a few achingly beautiful parts. I will never forget that a type of waterbug can literally suck out the guts of a frog and leave the skin like an orange rind. (If I had to know it, you do, too.) The depth of discovery Dillard found around Tinker Creek, not only of the active natural world, but what that means to us as humans, was surely why this book won a Pulitzer in 1975. Highly recommend, but it's not a page-turner, it's a slow savour.  Worm  (graphic novel) by Edel Rodriguez - This graphic memoir was SO good! It is the story of Edel (mostly his childhood) in Cuba and his life from 'before' and then the communist takeover, through his family's escape by boat in the Mariel Boatlift of 1980 . Rodriguez went on to become a very famous artist, and has had numerous artwork on...

17! You're FINALLY 17! You can drive independently, and you have read the manual, watched professional drivers and gleaned tips from others about this test that you've been dreaming about for years. You were given a car by a friend of ours, cleaned it to perfection, fixed it up in places, and have driven your sister and friends all over for the past week in near-unbridled joy. I am so happy for you (and I'd be lying if I wasn't happy for me, too)! You are such a mature and kind-hearted young man. You have big plans and are taking the steps to proactively execute them. You are sweet to your sister even if you'd deny it in front of your friends, and your relationship with her has come full-circle back to being as close as you two were in your littlest years.  You have so many goals and you work hard to achieve them! You prioritize what's important to you, and are willing to cut the rest. Although I sometimes wonder how you will remember to get to appointments with...

  Whistler in early March on a bluebird day Sigh. It's September 5th when I'm writing this. I hate that I'm so late with these because I can't remember much from 5 months ago. I remember liking or not liking a book, and I might have a memory or two - an image or a sentence I liked, but I didn't keep great records of some of these. So, peanuts. It's what I can offer! Above Ground by Clint Smith - This book of poetry was (very likely found) via Padrig O'Touma's Poetry Unbound podcast, where I find most of my poetry books to read. I remember liking this book, but I can't remember anything else about it. Sorry! Parasitic Oscillations by Madhur Anand - I also remember liking this one. There was nature, grieving the poet's parents, and tension. Darn it I wish I could give you more, but I guess you'll just have to read it and get back to me.  Somehow by Anne Lamott - I will read anything this lady writes. This one was okay. It wasn't her best...

A very early morning walk in Fort Langley  I am currently typing this post in August - late August - because for some reason I just could not get blogging done (even though I want to record the books and vacations!). I had an empty summer (of no kids in the house) and a full summer (friend visiting, caretaking, extra work hours) and a few days away in each month and now it's over! The kids go back to school in approximately 7 days! Wild.  Anyway, for these posts, I'm going to hope that these were the books I read 'around this time'. I can't be sure, because I don't keep notes on when exactly I finish a book, just a paper list and a pinterest board that I try to remember to update. Here we go! North End Love Songs by Katherena Vermette - This collection of poetry was completed in a day, as they are quite short, but they are very heavy. Vermette connects the natural world (often birds) with the abuse and trauma Indigenous youth experience(d) over the course of ma...

  a December sunrise in Fort Langley  A final nod to the books I read in 2023! Just squeezing by on Jan 1, 2024.  For how busy the last six weeks before Christmas break were, I sure was able to read a lot! A few of these were poetry or comics, which do go faster than a memoir or novel, but the four read-alouds done for homeschool with the kids were NOT easy reads (well, aside from Little Women ), and one was incredibly long and bleak...! What Kind of Woman? by Kate Baer - This poetry collection was probably my favorite of the year. It had poems that made me go "YESSSS" by the end of it; mostly they were about motherhood and how society views women, hilarious and honest and just the right amount of description/editing.  All My Knotted - Up Life by Beth Moore - One of the best memoirs I read this year, I've been an avid fan-girl of Moore's for over a decade. I love her bible studies, her humor, and her integrity, and in this story of her life she reveals some things t...

  a gorgeous early sunrise in Fort Langley As noted earlier, this list is compact and July - Dec titles' posts are being completed (finally. Hallelujah!) over my Christmas break. Onto the Fall! The kids and I have read some excellent classics this year so far, with more on the Winter/Spring horizon.  Revenge of the Librarians: Cartoons by Tom Gauld - This was a silly little comic book that was almost like the Far Side but with Librarian/book people humor. Read it in one sitting, laughed a lot. LOTS of book references; for the literati that's enticing.  Hidden Systems by Dan Nott - Ok. Another comic book (non-fiction) that was SO fascinating I actually made Ani read it for part of her Science work. This book describes in words AND helpful drawn pictures how the internet, electricity, and water systems are all around us and yet I knew next to NONE of this information. When any of these systems don't work, our lives basically come to a standstill, so I'd guess that most pe...