Our House in the Middle of Our Street

  Glen Valley dyke trail, early July, 6AM Watership Down (graphic novel) adapted by Richard Adams - I have never read this classic novel, but the graphic novel has stunning illustrations and I knew I'd read it this way if I had it from the library. I'm glad I read it as a graphic novel - I don't know that the premise of the story would entice me (well, it hadn't thus far anyway) to read it in its original format, but having the illustrations certainly helped me understand the storyline.  Swim Team (graphic novel) by Johnnie Christmas - Just a little piece of middle-grade, graphic novel candy for summer. The equivalent, I suppose, of most people's "beach reads"! The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbury - I followed along (late, however) with Joy Clarkson's online book club on her substack. I had bought this book at least a decade ago at a thrift store, then gave it away to someone (who?!) and then finally got it from the library and I finished i...

  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...

  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 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...

                                                summer's evening scene on the Glen Valley dyke trail  I've prepped this months ago, but I'm writing this post (and sharing it on it's proper share date, ahem ) on December 29, 2023. I just can't seem to get these posts up on time, at any time, during my very active life. I have a good life, but those who warned me the teen years are just a different kind of busy (mostly driving) were telling the truth. These two weeks of school break I decidedly am doing only about 3 things, and outside of that, have 16 days of REST. Reading, catching up on my computer tabs (I think the highest point was over 60 (!!), cue embarrassmen t), and getting these forsaken book posts out.  I like to record my reading, and I like sharing it with others, I just have to have time, and BRAIN...

                                                   a little pond near our house in early light                   Again, I don't remember what order these were in, so here it goes!  The Open-Air Life by Linda Aekson Mcgurk - I really enjoyed Mcgurk's " There's No Such Thing As Good Weather " and although I enjoyed this one, I already knew quite a bit of the practical suggestions because I'm an avid nature person already. I think the suggestions in this book for year-round nature immersion are good ones if one doesn't know where to start! And long-live the cold dips! Canadian Geographic (Mar-April) - I read and enjoy this bi-monthly magazine and am reminded of some of the stories about changing land formations by water erosion, and also learning about the ...

  Whistler snow peaks I am so woefully behind in my Titles posts that I will (mostly) just be getting right to it. This past school year was an intense literary one, and while I read aloud some amazing novels, most of them classics or Canadian historical novels, I didn't have much time for things like documenting and writing about found authors, etc. Thankfully, I kept my Pinterest board alive and documented everything completed in my Leuchtturm notebook that I keep religiously for a few years before its completely done.  That, and finally, my third check - my two libraries' borrowing history section! Reading Black Books by Claude Atcho - Not to start off with a bang, but this I knew when I completed this book it'd easily be one of my top 10 of the year. I found this book via a webinar by the Trinity Forum with the author and had the library purchase it. It is one of the best literary criticism anthologies I've ever read, and not only that, the writing itself is aca...

  View somewhere on Whistler or Blackcomb Mountain Canadian Geographic Dec/Jan issue - I really enjoyed the most recent issue, and loved the cover articles - on owls and also the grasslands of Canada, and the health of that ecosystem over the last 200 years.  New Kid by Jerry Craft - This was a fun and easy comic I finished in about two days. It's about a ...yes...new kid to a new school and the friend group he makes. The pictures are done well, and the story has a really nice flow. I don't even know if I've ever read comic books before this year, but it's quickly becoming a fun 'beach read' for me when I need a break. YA Comic Book I can finish in 2 hours? Why not!? Especially when this one won the 2020 Newberry Medal.  The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - This book was created in little niche that I love, also-books in verse (poetry). This book won the 2018 National Book Award in Young People's Literature, and it's well deserved. The poetry is engaging...

  a private property landscape after beaver-proofing saplings with A Rocha Canadian Geographic Sept/Oct issue - Although this issue was interesting, the only thing I really remember from it was the article on how the soundscapes of nature are changing due to constant industrialization and development. You can read that article online HERE .  This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel - This was the book I chose to lead with my book club, because I knew it would be a great conversation starter. This book is about a boy who transitions into becoming a girl at a very young age, and about the family as a whole with how to deal with that situation, along with the aftermath of friends 'finding out' after years of knowing the child as a girl. I will say, I found some of this book was trite and unappealing, but the general theme of the story was a fast way to have a controversial conversation-something I love! A Man with a Rake by Ted Kooser - Although I love Ted Kooser, this is the...

  view from along the Pitt River dyke I'm on Christmas Vacation (ahem) and am finally getting to the last 3 sections of book reviews. Sadly, because  this was so long ago, I don't remember much about these particular books or magazines except the Rembrandt one, but here goes!  Canadian Geographic: July/August issue - The magazine I read cover to cover every other month, this issue did not disappoint. It included information on the Atlantic cod referendum, along with an article about a female scientist who studied a large (now fast disappearing) glacier over 100 years ago. The photos were staggering to see the difference in just one century.  The Carrying by Ada Limon - Although I don't remember specifics about this book of poetry (or the next), I'm pretty sure I found both of them via Padraig O'Tuama from Poetry Unbound podcast . I remember really enjoying this book of poetry, and that it was reflective both of America has been in the last few years, but also sear...

  May and June were easier for me to get books completed, because  we were so close to the end of the school year (and still had so much to do!) but I also read quite a few short books on my own. Each of these books below were under 250 pages, except MAUS but that was a novel set in comic book form, so I read it in a day (and it was completely absorbing- a true story!).  There are another couple of books in this photo above that got abandoned due to time (darn that new Julie Bogart book! I want to read it and so does everyone else!) or lack of interest. I'm much better about not finishing books I don't really want to read. Years ago I would have pushed through and now I am just more realistic. Time moves too fast to read books you don't love.  May Titles  * Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman - Gorman was the National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017 and penned a poem for President Biden's inauguration. She had yet to publish a complete work of poetry until Call ...

  The last year of homeschooling was more intense than expected as far as reading aloud books to my teens. We've always done a lot of reading together, but now that the kids are older, the books are longer, more dense, and reading for my own gets pushed to the back burner because we are on a timeline (!) with finishing their books for Language Arts, Socials, and Science. I'm four months late, but want to keep tracking books every other month for a record of our days, so here we are-playing catch up.  I can't actually remember when I read all these titles; the school books are clearer, but the others, I'm just guessing as to when they fell in either March or April. So many books I've abandoned or wasn't able to finish before the library due date (looking at you The Island of Missing Trees !) and I'd be remiss not to mention my attention just isn't what it used to be. I find it much harder to really sink into a book. It was nearly impossible for me to do d...

The most recent stack Although this post might say it's March 1, 2022, I am currently sitting half-way through March while trying to get this done in the next thirty minutes that I have to myself. It never lasts long enough! Only half of this stack got finished, though I've completed a few since this photo was taken, my reading has mostly been for the kids' school book stack. That is just the reality these days as they are reading novels (or I am reading them aloud) and to keep up with all of it just takes most of my (slow) reading time. I'm a quarter of the way through my most recent Plough magazine issue, and have high hopes for reading Joy Clarkson's Aggressively Happy over the course of the next month, but even my book club reads are suffering.  January The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - This was my book club's January pick and it was long and not my favorite Hannah book. If I never read another Dust Bowl book I'll be happy (I think this was #4...). It...